


Recommended at the Price

by Talia2711



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Escorts, Alternate Universe - Prostitution, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Insecurity, M/M, Pining, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-03-26 14:40:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13859862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talia2711/pseuds/Talia2711
Summary: Tyler would never call himself Sidney’s bottom bitch, but he is the most experienced guy still on the payroll, and he’s the one who corrals the baby hookers Geno brings home. Baby hookers, he's learned from working with Alex and Brendan, take a lot of fucking corralling.Or: Sidney is a pimp, not a matchmaker, but somehow his prostitutes keep falling in love.





	1. Alex

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter to _Not the Word I'm Looking For_ is in the works. Should be finished soon. In the meantime, here's this other thing about Sid's escort service as told by Alex and Tyler.

Alex doesn’t mean to eavesdrop. It’s just been a while since he’s heard anyone speaking in Russian, and it’s hard to resist listening to the conversation. Besides, he needs a distraction from how fucking cold it is, and the way Brendan’s teeth are chattering in his ear.

The guy is tall with dark hair, and he’s wearing an expensive coat. It looks really fucking warm, and Alex tries to tell himself he’s not jealous. That would be stupid. 

The guy has a phone to his ear, but just as he’s passing their corner, he ends his conversation and hangs up. He slows his pace so he can shove the phone into the pocket of his fancy coat, and as he’s doing that, his eyes roam the street around him. His gaze falls on Alex and Brendan in their little huddle, and he cocks his head, clearly interested. 

The look in his eyes is one Alex is familiar with – appraisal. He’s looking at them like he’s deciding if the purchase is going to be worth it.

Alex shoves Brendan off him and, ignoring his grumbles, takes a step closer to the guy.

“Good evening,” he says in Russian, and it feels so good to speak it again that he doesn’t even mind what’s coming next. “Do you want company?”

It’s blunt, but you really have to be in situations like this. 

“Maybe,” the man says. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen,” Alex tells him. It’s a good age to be a hooker – young enough to seem vulnerable, old enough to seem experienced – and it’s also the truth.

The man looks him up and down again, and then his eyes go to Brendan. “And your friend? How old?”

“Eighteen,” Alex says. He’s not sure if he’s happy or worried that the man is looking at Brendan now. His eyes don’t look mean (Alex doesn’t let the mean ones have Brendan, not ever), and it’ll be good for Brendan to get out of the cold. But it always sucks, knowing Brendan is fucking people. It’s not jealousy, that would be stupid. Alex just doesn’t like it.

Then the man says, “Do you work together?”

“You want… both of us?” Alex asks, just to be clear.

The man nods. Then he says directly to Brendan, “Are you interested?”

Brendan looks up, startled, and his eyes cut to Alex.

“He doesn’t speak Russian,” Alex tells the man. Then to Brendan, he says, “This guy wants us. Both of us. You okay with that?”

Brendan looks at him like he’s stupid. “Dude,” he says, “I will do literally anything to get out of the cold. Tell this fucker I’m 100% down.”

“He’s okay with it,” Alex tells the guy. “Do you have a place?”

There’s a shit motel around the corner that they can use if they absolutely have to, but the desk guy’s been looking at Brendan like he wants to mess him up lately, and Alex would just as soon have that not happen.

It doesn’t matter anyway, not tonight, because the guy is parked just around the corner. His car is nice – red and flashy. As they climb inside, Alex wonders where this guy was coming from, where he was going. Then the guy turns on the heat, and all Alex can think about is the burning in his hands and face. He hopes this guy likes boys who are a splotchy mess, because he and Brendan are definitely going to be after this ride.

The guy – “Call me Geno,” he’d said – takes them across town to a small but clean apartment building. The front door is locked, but Geno swipes a key fob over a panel to the side and then holds the door for them.

“Third apartment on the left,” Geno says, and Alex repeats it in English for Brendan’s benefit.

The apartment itself is furnished but kind of empty – no pictures on the wall, no mess on the side tables. It looks kind of like no one lives there. Maybe, he thinks, no one does. This could just be a vacant apartment that Geno happens to have the key for. That makes more sense than being taken to someone’s actual home. Who wants hookers in their house, anyway? 

Still, the whole thing makes Alex uneasy. Brendan’s noticed the weirdness, too. 

“Hope you didn’t sign us up to get murdered, dude,” he whispers. 

“Don’t be a baby,” Alex whispers back, but grabs Brendan’s hand and squeezes it, just for a second.

Geno takes them into a room with a huge king size, and says, “Get undressed, then sit on the edge of the bed.”

Alex relays the order to Brendan, who’s still giving him a WTF face. And okay, it is a little awkward to do this with Brendan here. They’ve never actually worked together like this. No one’s ever coughed up the money for a threesome before. 

They don’t really make eye contact as they strip, and when they situate themselves on the edge of the bed, they leave a good foot of space between them. Geno’s pulled up a chair and is watching them, expression appraising like it had been when he first saw them.

He says, “What do you like?”

Alex blinks. “Uh, whatever you want,” he manages. Fuck, he’s so bad at this. It’s no wonder people prefer Brendan – at least Brendan knows how to talk to them. 

He clears his throat. “I want what you want,” he tries again.

Geno doesn’t look impressed.

“You want to get fucked?” he asks, watching Alex closely. “You want to suck cock?”

Alex nods. “Whatever you want,” he says again.

Geno says, “I want you to fuck your friend.”

Alex can’t help it – his breath catches in his throat.

“Oh,” he says, voice breathy and pathetic. “You want – oh. Okay.”

He knows it shouldn’t make a difference – a job’s a job. But this is Brendan they’re talking about, and Alex would be a fucking liar if he said he’d never thought about it. Even now he’s getting kind of a boner just thinking about it.

“First, though,” Geno says, “tell him to finger himself open. I want a show.”

Alex swallows hard.

“Dude, what?” Brendan says, watching him and looking nervous.

“He, uh, wants you to finger yourself. Give him a show.”

“Oh,” Brendan says, and blushes a little. “Okay.”

He rolls himself over onto his hands and knees, legs spread enough to give Geno (and Alex) a teasing view. Then he straightens up so he’s just on his knees, hands free to reach back and spread himself even more. Brendan’s a fucking spaz so much of the time, but he knows his angles, Alex will give him that.

Alex watches, transfixed, as Brendan slips himself a finger. He makes a soft little grunting sound that goes right to Alex’s dick, and when he pulls his finger back out, it’s a little bit shiny. Brendan’s not stupid, he definitely prepped himself before they went out earlier. Not every john wants to take the time for lube or prep.

Even knowing that, it still does something for Alex how easily Brendan takes one finger, and then another. Brendan’s small all over, but his fingers are long and clever. Alex is good with his hands, too, and his are big. If he were the one fingering Brendan right now, the stretch would be better. He wonders if that’s what Brendan likes, when he has the choice. Does he want to be stretched out on Alex’s fingers? 

“That’s enough,” Geno says when Brendan is pushing back onto three of his fingers and shaking with it. “Now fuck him.”

Alex forces his gaze away from Brendan’s body to look at Geno. He’d forgotten he was there for a minute, too caught up in watching Brendan work himself over. Geno’s eyes are dark and he’s definitely hard through his jeans, but he hasn’t made a move to do anything about that. Maybe he likes to wait, to tease himself. Maybe after Alex is done with Brendan, this guy’s going to want a turn. 

Alex’s mouth is dry, and he has to clear his throat before he can ask, “How do you want us?”

Geno considers. “Dealer’s choice,” he says after a moment. “Condoms and lube are in the drawer there.”

Dealer’s choice. Alex’s choice. How does he want Brendan? God, what an impossible choice. More like, how _doesn’t_ he want Brendan?

Well whatever they do, they need to give Geno a good show. 

“Put your face in the pillow, Gally,” Alex says. His voice is a fucking wreck. “But like, stay on your knees, okay?”

Brendan slants him a look. He’s hard, flushed down his chest, and his breaths are coming in ragged bursts. He pulls his fingers out, and his stomach muscles shudder.

“You had better give it to me fucking hard, Chuck,” he says, panting. “I’m not messing around here.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alex says, and he’s proud of the way his voice has come back online. He gives Brendan’s ass a slap, and tells himself it’s only for Geno’s benefit.

There are, in fact, condoms in the drawer by the bed. Alex rolls one on and slicks himself up, trying to touch himself as little as possible because he’s already hard and throbbing just from watching, and if he plays with himself even at all, he’s probably going to blow his load before he even gets inside Brendan.

He crawls up on the bed behind Brendan, touches his hip to let him know he’s there. His skin is hot, and Alex pets it without meaning to.

“Just do it, man,” Brendan grits out.

So Alex does. He takes himself in hand, rocks his hips forward, and pushes into Brendan. Brendan opens up so easily for him, spreading around him, tight heat sucking him in.

“Oh fuck,” Alex says, and Brendan makes a high-pitched wordless sound under him.

Something snaps in Alex’s brain and he can’t help himself: he pushes in as far as he can go, pulls halfway back out, and slams back in. He grabs Brendan’s hips for leverage, lets his fingers dig in and leave marks as he pounds into him. Brendan arches back into ALex, making these hurt “uh uh uh” sounds that make Alex’s dick jump and twitch. God, he want to kiss him. They can’t, not in this position, so he leans forward instead and sinks his teeth into Brendan’s shoulder.

Brendan shouts and clenches around Alex, who almost comes right then and there but manages to push through it. He digs his fingers even harder into Brendan’s skin, and fucks into him as fast and as deep as he can manage. Brendan shifts under him, and he must get a hand around his dick because his body arches forward, then back onto Alex, then forward, and then he’s clenching around Alex again. Alex can’t help himself this time – he puts his teeth in Brendan again and comes.

He sort of collapses on Brendan after that, but Brendan makes an “oof” noise, and elbows him until he pulls out and rolls away. Alex takes the condom off and ties it, then looks up and remembers suddenly that Geno is still in the room and watching them. Probably Alex shouldn’t have come or let Brendan come without checking with Geno first. Maybe Geno wanted to join in, maybe he wanted them to hold out indefinitely.

Alex takes a deep breath in through his nose, and looks at Geno. He’s going to take whatever punishment he’s earned for this. And if Geno wants to take it out on Brendan, well, Alex just isn’t going to let that happen.

Geno just looks at them, though, and he’s still wearing that goddamn considering face, like he thinks he still has to buy them. They’re bought, at this point. What’s the fucking hold up?

Geno says, “Not bad. Little bit unpolished, but you get better.”

“What the fuck?” Brendan says, whipping around to look at him. He’s got come all down his thighs, and it takes Alex a minute to figure out what’s wrong with him. 

Then it hits him.

“You speak English?” he asks dumbly.

“Well, yeah,” Geno says, totally unfazed by their stupid mouth-open gaping. “Good to speak Russian, though. Sexiest language, you know?”

Brendan turns his glare on Alex, and his eyes are accusing, like Alex hid this from him. 

“I didn’t fucking know,” Alex hisses. “I’m not a mind-reader.”

“You’re a shitty Russian,” Brendan hisses back, and Alex is okay with that, because he’s not actually a Russian at all.

“So,” Geno says, and they both turn back to look at him. “You shower, dress. I’m get food. Then we talk.”

He stands and starts to walk toward the door.

“Wait,” Brendan says, because he’s a fucking idiot. “You don’t wanna fuck me?”

Geno snorts. “I’m not fuck hookers,” he says over his shoulder. “I’m married.”

Then he leaves, and Alex and Brendan turn to look at each other.

“What the fuck?” Brendan says.

Alex has no idea.


	2. Alex

They shower in the en suite and get back in their street clothes. Alex debates suggesting they bail out the window, but they haven’t actually gotten paid yet, and anyway, it’s going to piss him off if he never finds out what’s going on here. So instead they make their way out into the living room, where Geno is waiting for them.

He’s not alone. There’s another guy now, too. He has dark hair, a pretty face, and an air of confidence that Alex is totally not jealous over. He’s shorter than Alex but still has a few good inches on Brendan. 

“Good show, boys,” he says when he sees them. 

“Uh, thanks,” Alex replies carefully, because what the fuck else can he really say?

“Have a seat,” the guy tells them. “Grab what you want.”

He waves a hand toward the small table in front of them, which is covered in Chinese takeout. 

And okay, Alex has been a hooker for like six months now, and this is the weirdest situation he’s ever found himself in. But… he is really hungry and the food smells good, so he grabs a carton and a fork and pretty much just goes for it. Hopefully it’s not drugged, but if Alex gets murdered tonight, at least he’ll die knowing what it was like to get his dick inside Brendan. 

The new guy introduces himself as Sid, and he makes small talk as they eat. Well, it’s not exactly small talk, more like a background check. He asks things like, “How long have you been on the street?” and “Are there things you’re not comfortable doing on a job?” and “Do you have any arrest warrants?”

Alex’s body fails him in typical fashion and decides he’s going to be too embarrassed to really answer any questions. Luckily, Brendan has no such hang-ups and gives Sid their whole life stories, all about meeting at a group foster home and Alex running with him when Brendan turned eighteen. They’d had an idea that being on their own would be easier than staying put and in a lot of ways they were right, but it also turns out money is always an issue no matter where you are.

Alex listens to him spill their secrets, and he mostly doesn’t mind. He doubts Sid is a cop or a social worker, and if things get dicey, diving out the window is still always an option. Mostly, though, Alex is too busy watching Brendan’s mouth move to think about the actual words he’s saying, and he keeps having to look away to give his dick a break. An inconvenient boner is exactly what this situation does not need.  
Is this always what happens when you fuck your best friend? Is Alex going to just be hyperaware of Brendan’s body for the rest of his life? He wouldn’t take it back, even if that’s true, but he wishes someone would have warned him about it before this, jeeze.

Eventually, after Alex and Brendan have eaten a metric ton of rice and fried chicken, Sid straightens up and sets down the carton he was holding.

He says, “Are you guys interested in a job?”

And, okay, that’s kind of weird, because they’re already on a job, aren’t they? Unless Sid is asking them if they want to go for round two. Maybe he wants to join in this time? 

Alex looks over at Brendan, who’s looking back and seems just as confused.

“Do you mean, like… what do you mean?”

“Sid is a pimp,” Geno says.

Alex and Brendan stare. Sid laughs, but doesn’t deny it.

“I run a business,” he says. “An escort service, technically. We’re always looking for pretty boys to clean up and take on. Geno tells me you guys are a little unpracticed, but as a team we have a lot of experience to draw on. If you guys are interested, we could get you trained up in no time.”

That… seems kind of sketchy, to be honest. A pimp? Isn’t that a guy that fucks you up if you don’t give him all the money you earned? Why the hell would anyone sign up for that?

Some of what he’s thinking must show in his face, because Sid says, “You’re wondering about the money. That’s fair. I take 60% of whatever you make. That covers health insurance, rent, utilities, security and vetting for clients, and maintenance fees for the gym in the basement. You buy your own food and toiletries but the apartments are furnished. We’d have the two of you share, at first, since you’re so young.

“I’ll tell you, though,” he goes on, “if it’s money you’re worried about, you’d be making a hell of a lot more with my clients than you are right now on a street corner. And more consistently, too. You don’t have to worry about where you’re going to stay, if you’re going to have enough to eat, what to do if it snows or is too cold to pick up tricks outside. I was out there when I was your age so I get it. This is a better option.”

It sounds… too good to be true. What kind of pimp offers health insurance? And a gym in the basement? That can’t be right. There’s got to be a catch. Alex has heard stories about pimps, and they’re the ones that get you hooked on heroin or give you a face tattoo so you can’t ever leave them. Sid’s politeness, his pretty words, it all has to be a front.

“We give you time to talk,” Geno says. “You stay here tonight. Door open if you want to leave, but locks from outside so no one gets in. Any food, you can have. And then tomorrow, you make decision.”

He and Sid stand to leave.

“Hey,” Alex says, remembering suddenly. “You’re paying us?”

He can’t believe it slipped his mind this long, but to be fair, fucking Brendan kind of ranks above food and shelter for Alex.

“Money is on table,” Geno says, pointing at an envelope Alex hadn’t noticed. “Should be enough. See you tomorrow.”

They leave, and Alex immediately grabs up the money to count it.

“Well?” Brendan says, watching him. “How much?”

“Five hundred,” Alex says slowly. Five hundred dollars and Geno hadn’t even touched either of them. Five hundred dollars just to watch Alex fuck Brendan, which he would have done for free.

Brendan’s eyes go wide. “What the fuck?”

Alex still doesn’t know.

“We could run for it,” Brendan says slowly, looking down at the money. 

Alex nods, weighting the options. They’re not rich or anything, but this is kind of a lot. They could pay for a lot of nights in a shitty motel, buy food for a week, or even two if they’re careful.

On the other hand, if they go back to their home base motel, the desk guy is probably going to try to make Brendan a deal. A fuck for a cheaper rate. And there’s no way he can tell Brendan not to take it, not when it would mean making their money last longer. If they stay here, take the job, Brendan’s still going to be fucking other people, but at least Alex will be sure they’re safe. Security and vetting, Sid had said.

“We should stay,” he decides. “At least… at least until tomorrow.”

Brendan gives him a look like he doesn’t think much of Alex’s self-preservation skills, but he doesn’t put up a fight.

“Okay,” he says. “But Chucky, if you get us sold into human trafficking, I’m going to be so pissed, you have no idea.”

“I’ll protect you,” Alex tells him, and he’s not really joking but Brendan laughs anyway.

They clean up the leftovers and then go back into the bedroom. There’s only one bed, obviously, but it’s big enough for it, and anyway, sharing a bed is familiar territory; sometimes one bed is all you can afford and you’re grateful for even that. 

Brendan talks in his sleep (which is creepy and annoying) and is a serious cuddler (which Alex pretends to hate but melts into every time). He also likes to be the big spoon, which is very fortunate tonight because being back in the bed where he fucked Brendan is having an unfortunate side effect on Alex’s dick. Brendan pressed up along his back like a fucking spider monkey doesn’t help, but at least in this position he can’t tell how hard Alex is. 

Even still, Alex isn’t very subtle, and eventually Brendan pinches his side and says, “Stop squirming, you fucker.” 

Alex forces himself to relax, and Brendan falls asleep pretty quickly after that. Alex lies awake a lot longer, thinking about the offer and about Brendan. It’s stupid to think they could ever be together. Brendan doesn’t want Alex like that, for one thing, and even if he did, they’re hookers; it’s literally their job to fuck other people. It’s dumb to even think about it. It’s never going to happen.

Alex is an idiot, because he wants it anyway.

/////

The next morning Alex wakes up with Brendan’s hard dick pressed against his back, and yeah okay, he can work with this. Alex prefers to top when he gets the chance, but he’d let Brendan fuck him if that’s what he wanted.

It’s funny, he thinks, that being a professional prostitute hasn’t really dampened his sex drive. He’s had some rough times with johns, done things he hated and said things that made him want to vomit. But even for all that, he still thinks about sex pretty much all the time. Probably it’s got something to do with Brendan walking around like a fucking _situation_ , and touching Alex like he’s personal property. About six times a day Alex has to take a step back and remind himself that Brendan is just clingy and also not interested.

Now is one of those times.

“Hey,” he says, thrusting an elbow back. “Gally. Wake up.”

Brendan mumbles something and sleepily curls an arm around Alex’s waist. His hand lands on Alex’s stomach, too close for comfort to his dick, and Alex has to nope the fuck out before shit gets weird.

“Where you going?” Brendan asks as Alex pulls himself out of bed.

“Shower,” Alex tells him, and goes to jerk off under the water.

The hot water is nice (and okay, so is the orgasm), but pulling on his street clothes afterward is less so. He has a spare pair in his backpack, but they’re not exactly fresh. He and Brendan usually make it to the laundromat about twice a week, which is more than they can really afford, but you can’t pull tricks if you don’t look (and smell) decently clean.

“Dude,” Brendan says when Alex comes back into the bedroom. “I’m tired of wearing these clothes.”

Alex nods. “I was thinking that. We should do laundry.”

“No,” Brendan says. “I mean, yeah, we should. But I meant, like, I want new clothes. Actually new. Clothes no one has ever worn before.”

Alex thinks about that. It’s been… god, years since he’s had new clothes. The last time was probably when he was still living with his parents, before they decided having a fag as a son wasn’t an option. He thinks Anna might have given him a shirt as a birthday present the year he turned fifteen. 

Oh, Anna. God, he misses her so fucking much.

“Hey,” Brendan says, nudging Alex’s shoulder with his own. “You wanna see if these weird-ass fuckers will make us breakfast?”

Alex laughs, and it doesn’t even feel forced.

“Ass fuckers,” he repeats, and grins. “You’re one to talk.”

Brendan gives him an over-the-top offended look.

“You’re the one who plowed me into the bed last night,” he says, and Alex chokes.

Okay, apparently this is something they’re talking about now. Well good. This way Alex can become desensitized about the whole thing. Soon thinking about fucking Brendan won’t even get him hot.

“You made it so easy,” Alex manages to shoot back. “You liked me plowing you, admit it.”

Brendan grins and shrugs philosophically. “What can I say? I like ‘em big.”

/////

There’s a note on the kitchen table, and Alex is a little creeped out he didn’t hear anyone come in to leave it.

“’Come to apartment 304,’” Brendan reads, head poking over Alex’s shoulder to see. He’s on his toes and his arms are wrapped around Alex to steady himself. His chin is kind of pokey, but Alex lets him lean anyway.

“You think it’s a trap?” Alex asks.

Brendan drops back onto his feet and gently bites the back of Alex’s shoulder.

“Tone it down, Admiral Ackbar,” he says, voice muffled by Alex’s shirt.

Probably he’s right. No one would set a trap this obvious.

They grab their stuff and go out into the hall. There’s no elevator, but it’s only two floors up.

“It’s pretty messed up,” Alex muses when they’re on the stairs, “that they called him a Calamari. That’s, like, seafood, Gally. Don’t you think that’s messed up?”

“Would you eat calamari?” Brendan asks. “Like, if I gave you five bucks?”

“The calamari would cost more than five bucks, though.”

“Fine,” Brendan says. “Five bucks and a blowjob.”

Alex almost misses a step, and just barely catches himself in time. 

Fuck, he changed his mind. Becoming desensitized isn’t going to work here. They need to stop talking about the sex so Alex can just forget it ever happened and finally get the fuck over Brendan. 

“Who would want a blowjob from you?” he manages to say.

“Hopefully lots of people,” Brendan says. “Otherwise I’m in the wrong profession, bro.”

He’s grinning again and at least that’s something Alex really _has_ become desensitized to. It’s still nice to see, though. Happy Brendan is Alex’s favorite. 

They find 304 easily enough (there are actually only four apartments on each floor), and Alex knocks. A mousy-haired kid answers the door. His eyebrows go up when he sees them, and he calls back over his shoulder, “Sid, there’s a twink and a werewolf cub at the door!”

“Hey!” Brendan says indignantly, and Alex pats his shoulder consolingly. He’s not sure how he feels about being called a werewolf cub, but he can work with it. And Brendan _is_ kind of a twink, even if he’s also a bro.

“Well let them in, Cam,” Sid calls back, and the boy moves aside for them to crowd through the door.

This apartment, unlike the one downstairs, is definitely lived-in. There’s junk mail on the hall table, about ten pairs of shoes piled up on a welcome mat, and further down the hall, Alex thinks he can see some framed pictures.

“This way,” the kid says. “You almost missed muster.”

Something sharp pinches the skin at Alex’s waist and he jumps and whirls around. It’s just Brendan, eyes wide and super weirded out.

‘Muster?’ he mouths.

Alex shrugs. “Don’t pinch,” he hisses back.

Brendan pinches him again just because he can, and Alex would put him in a headlock or something, but this probably isn’t the time or place.

The kid – Cam – takes them to the kitchen, where Sid and Geno are sitting at a big table with two boys and two guys probably a little older than Alex and Brendan. One of them – a redhead – beckons to Cam.

“Sit down,” he says. “Finish your pancakes.”

Alex’s stomach grumbles at the word ‘pancakes,’ and Sid looks up from the paper he’s been studying.

“Hungry?” he asks. “Tyler, will you grab them something?”

The other guy – a pretty boy with a snapback and a sleepy looking in his eyes – stands up and dutifully goes over to the stove. There must be more pancakes hidden there, because he turns around a minute later with two plates in hand.

“Sit down, dudes,” he says. 

Alex grabs a plate and a seat and scarfs his food down so fast he barely tastes it. Brendan likes to joke about it sometimes, but Alex is legitimately a growing boy and he gets fucking hungry.

When he’s finished, he twirls his fork idly and watches Sid, trying to get a feel for him. He doesn’t look or talk how Alex thinks a pimp should, but what if it’s just an act? 

Sid says to Tyler, “Jamie wants you again tonight.”

Tyler lights up. “Cool,” he says. “What time?”

“He wanted early but you’re already booked for dinner with Ericsson.”

“Oh,” Tyler says, and his face falls a little bit. Then he brightens again. “Well, at least he won’t want to fuck me. Man, I hate going twice back to back.”

“Getting old,” Geno cuts in. “Too old to get it up. What we pay you for?”

“Hey!” the redhead cuts in. “There’s kids!”

“Oh come on, man,” Tyler whines. “They definitely know the word ‘fuck’. Carson, back me up on this.”

“We know the word ‘fuck,’ Claude,” one of the boys says, grinning. 

Alex stares, and he can feel Brendan kicking him under the table. What even is going on here? This does _not_ seem like a pimp’s place of work. And who the fuck are these kids? Surely… surely they’re not hookers too? 

The redhead – Claude, apparently – frowns at the kid but doesn’t say anything, and Sid cuts in before things can escalate.

“Claude,” he says. “You have three appointments. Everton this morning at ten, Hall at 6, and then someone new tonight at 9. Obviously that last one will be downstairs so Geno can screen it.”

Claude turns his glares on Sid, clearly not happy with something about that schedule. All he says in the end is, “Do you have a profile?”

“Sure do.” Sid passes a paper over, and Claude scans it, jaw clenched, until his phone starts to buzz.

“Shit,” he says, hitting the screen to turn off the alarm. “Guys, get a move on. We can’t miss the bus again.”

The boys complain but stuff the last of their food in their months and then trek over for the sink en masse to rinse their plates. They make a ruckus going out into the hall – one of them steps on another’s foot and a slight scuffle ensues – but then they pile out the door, Claude right behind them.

“They go to school?” Alex asks, just to make sure.

“Well yeah,” Sid says. “Caelan’s only like twelve. Little bit too young to get into the business. Besides, school is like free babysitting. I pay school taxes, might as well get the perks.”

“Yeah,” Tyler chimes in. “Perks like the school principal being our your client list.”

Sid turns and gives him a look. “Tyler,” he says, and doesn’t elaborate.

Tyler grins. “Shut my trap?” he guesses.

“You said it,” Sid agrees. “Now get out of here. Actually, wait – can you show these new guys around? They haven’t signed a contract yet, so treat them very nicely.”

“I would have anyway,” Tyler protests. He turns his grin on Alex and Brendan. “You guys want the ten million dollar tour, or what?”

“Uh, sure,” Alex says, and Brendan nods.

They stand and follow Tyler out into the hall. 

As they’re leaving, they hear Geno say very seriously, “I’m think it is ten cent tour. He wants million, you pay him too much.”

There’s a truly ridiculous giggle, and Sid says, “Oh my god, G, you’re trying too hard. If you want a blowjob, just ask.”

Tyler closes the door behind them.

“Let me grab by key from my place, then we can go downstairs. Uh, don’t ever forget your key fob when you go down or else you’ll have to buzz up and Geno will come down and smack you around a little bit before he lets you back in.”

Alex stop walking and Brendan, a few paces behind him, bounces into his back with a hard grunt.

“Chucky, what the fuck,” he hisses, poking Alex in the back.

“Watch where you’re going then,” Alex snaps. To Tyler, he says, “You let him hit you?”

He’s not worried about himself. Okay, Geno could probably beat the snot out of him, but Alex is tough, he can take it. But he’s not going to let anyone lay hands on Brendan like that.

Tyler blinks, wide and confused. 

“Uh, no,” he says. “Dude, I was just kidding. No one’s getting beat. He’ll just make a grumpy face at you and if he and Sid are in the middle of something, he might make you wait out in the cold for a while. But look, no one’s hitting anyone here, I promise. I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, but this is the best possible situation guys like us can be in.”

He’s right about one thing: Alex has no reason to trust him. 

Tyler blinks at him a few more times, and then says, “Um, I still have to get my key. You guys wanna see my place?”

His apartment is 302, and the door is unlocked. It’s messy inside, which Alex hadn’t expected. Clearly Sid doesn’t do surprise inspections or anything. Or if he does, he doesn’t mind Tyler being a total slob.

Tyler doesn’t linger, just grabs a fob key off the table and ushers them back out into the hall.

“Uh, let me think,” he says as he leads them toward the stairs. “What can I tell you guys? It’s a pretty boss job, as far as being a hooker goes. You get a few jobs a night, usually a few hours apart so you have time to get yourself cleaned up in between. They’re mostly rich people, so they expect you to be scrubbed down before they take you to bed. Actually, some of them don’t even wanna fuck you. We’re technically an escort service, you know, so sometimes people just want to take you to fancy parties and show you off as arm-candy.”

Alex thinks about having to make small-talk with a bunch of rich people and blanches. He hopes they have liquor at these fancy parties. He’s definitely not going into that situation sober.

“What else?” Tyler says, scratching his chin. “Uh, so the apartments on the first floor are for new clients. If it’s your first time with someone, they have to do the session here, and Geno watches on the cameras. They do background checks and stuff, don’t let anyone book if they’ve ever had, like, assault charges or anything, so he’s only ever had to step in a few times. Only once for me, when a guy wanted to get a little kinky and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I don’t mind it rough or most fetishes – that kind of comes with the territory – but you can’t mark up the merchandise when I’ve got a client right after you. That’s just rude, you know?”

“Right, yeah,” Brendan says, but he gives Alex a look like, ‘What the fuck is this guy smoking?’

Tyler doesn’t notice the look, just keeps talking.

“Second and third floor are for personal apartments. We don’t have anyone on the second floor right now because the roster is so small. Couple of guys left in the last few months.”

“What happened to them?” Brendan asks, sounding a little nervous. 

Alex doesn’t blame him. Do they even want to know?

“One of them finished school and got a job in his field. Probably won’t pay as well, but it’s a dream, you know? Uh, one of the guys got married and called it quits, and the other one got hired on exclusively for one of his clients. A full time personal sex kitten. Now there’s a dream, eh?”

“What?” Alex asks before he can stop himself. “Why would anyone do that?”

Maybe the pay would be alright, but who would want to be a sex slave?

Tyler shrugs easily. “They were totally in love, man. It’s not that weird to have clients fall in love with you. It’s our job to seduce them, you know? And if you’re into it, too, why the fuck not go exclusive? You know what they say: first comes love, then comes an exclusive contract, then comes marriage.”

Brendan and Alex look at each other.

“Uh, no,” Brendan says, laughing a little. “I’ve never heard anyone say that in my life. I think you just made that up.”

Tyler grins. “You’ll never know. Anyway, come check out the gym – it’s great!”

The gym is small but pretty well equipped. Alex hasn’t been to a gym in a long time – not since he was still in school – but it would be nice to get back into the habit. He’s skinny by necessity right now, but he knows his body could be a lot more than this if had the chance. Maybe someday he could even be the kind of guy Brendan would want to take to bed.

But no, he’s not going to think about Brendan and bed. The memory of last night is still so fresh in his mind, and he’s not going to let fucking Tyler see him with a boner.

“Nice,” Brendan says, touching an elliptical. “And you can just use this shit whenever you want?”

“Yeah,” Tyler says. “They don’t, like, keep you on a leash or anything. As long as I keep my appointments and satisfy the clients, whatever I do with the rest of my time is completely up to me. It’s not summer camp, you know? It’s like, a real adult job.”

His phone buzzes with a text suddenly. He grins down at it for a second before replying back. He’s still smiling when he looks at them again. 

“Sorry,” he says. “That was, uh, Jamie. He’s my – well, he’s a regular of mine.”

“And you guys text?” Brendan asks. He face says, ‘I’m totally judging you.’

“It’s not like that,” Tyler says immediately, shoving his phone into his pocket. “We’re friends. He’s a good guy. And anyway, he’s paying for it. I have to tell Sid how many times we text and how long we talk on the phone, and then Sid bills him for the time.”

There’s a minute of silence as that sinks in. Alex doesn’t know what to say, to be honest. This isn’t like any situation he’s ever been in before, and he doesn’t know how he’s supposed to feel. 

“So what do you think?” Tyler asks at last. “You gonna take the contract?”

Brendan looks at Alex, and Alex bites his lip.

Tyler takes a deep breath and says, “Look, you guys are on the street, right? Well, I was, too. Most of us were. I mean, not Claude – his kids’ dad is just in jail and he needed more money than he was making bartending. But Sid and Geno were street kids, and I was, too. And let me tell you – I’ve been working for Sid for two years, and it’s a fuck-ton better than anything I ever had out there. I get why you’re scared, but what’s the worst that could happen? If you hate it, just bail and start over in another part of the city. Like, what do you have to lose?”

Alex thinks about it: about the apartment and the health insurance and the gym. He thinks about someone vetting all their clients and watching them to make sure no one ever hurts Brendan again. He thinks about Brendan maybe falling in love with a client and leaving Alex all alone to go off and become their sex kitten.

He looks at Brendan. “What do you think?”

Brendan grins up at him and it’s his happy grin again. 

“Come on, Chucky,” he says easily. “Let’s do this thing.”

It breaks Alex’s heart, just a little, but he’s never been able to say no to Brendan. He looks back at Tyler.

“Okay,” he says. “We’ll do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know it's Mon Calamari. So does Alex.


	3. Tyler

Tyler got lucky. There’s no other explanation. For most guys who get hooked and end up on the streets, there’s no coming back. Most are dead within a few months, shot or stabbed or with a needle in their arm. And even if you don’t die right away, you almost always catch something: hepatitis or tetanus or motherfucking HIV. And that’s just the big scary stuff; no one ever even thinks about all the small ways you fuck yourself over – collapsed veins, ulcers, skin infections from not bathing, malnutrition because you forget to fucking eat.

But Tyler got lucky. None of that happened to him.

What happened instead was, Tyler started fucking men for money. It didn’t seem lucky on the surface (more desperate and pathetic than anything else), but that’s what led him to Sidney. And Sidney was the one who saved Tyler’s life.

He doesn’t remember the detox, not really. If he thinks about it hard enough (and god, why would he?) he can remember bits and pieces: crying into a soft pillow, shivering under a clean sheet, someone stroking his hair while he dry-heaved into a bucket.

What Tyler does remember is this: waking up one morning confused as fucking hell about where he was, aching and exhausted but clear-headed in a way he hadn’t been for at least a year. He remembers two men playing cards at a table by the window, and one of them looking up and smiling at Tyler in a way no one ever had, like he was genuinely glad to see him. That man had been Sidney, and he’d been ready to make a deal.

Being sober hadn’t been easy. It still isn’t, some days, but Tyler gets by. There are things that help, things that keep him grounded. One of those things is the trust Sidney has in him. Sidney made a pretty big investment, in a way, by getting Tyler clean. 

Most pimps, they try to get you hooked on shit, not the other way around. Tyler doesn’t need Sidney for anything, least of all smack; he could totally walk away if he wanted. And maybe it’s knowing he has that freedom that keeps him around. Plus, he has a lot of responsibilities. He would never call himself Sidney’s bottom bitch, but he is the most experience guy still on the payroll, and he’s the one who corrals the baby hookers Sidney brings home. 

It feels good, being trusted to keep things running like that. Not as good as being high, but being an escort does have its perks. Before Sidney, Tyler hadn’t ever really had a _nice thing_. Now he has lots of nice things, and one of those is Jamie.

It started like any other client: Sid handing Tyler a profile at muster and saying, “This is a new guy. You’ll meet here so Geno can be on call.”

“Gonna get a show, huh, G?” Tyler asked.

Geno shrugged like it didn’t make a difference to him, and Tyler resolved to make it extra special, just because he could.

The guy who met Tyler that night was tall and solid with neatly parted hair and the prettiest eyes Tyler had ever seen. He blushed when they introduced themselves, and he shook Tyler’s hand like a total weirdo. 

When they fucked, the guy wanted to do Tyler from behind and with the lights off, which was a little bit offensive. Or it would have been, except afterward Jamie got himself dressed and asked in a shy voice if Tyler would stay naked for a while. Tyler never minded being watched like that, so he spread himself out on the bed and let Jamie get a good look.

“Can I see you again?” Jamie asked, running a hand down Tyler’s sweaty side. “Maybe a date?”

“Yeah,” Tyler said, because why the hell not? He’d been a good lay, and he seemed nice enough. “Anything you want.”

Jamie booked him again the next week, and took him to a fancy restaurant, the kind Tyler could never afford if he wasn’t on someone else’s dime. Jamie was quiet at first, but Tyler’s always been fucking charming and he got him talking eventually. Underneath the shyness, Jamie turned out to be sort of funny, in a dad-humor kind of way. But he laughed at Tyler’s dirty jokes, so he wasn’t completely out of touch. After dinner they went back to Jamie’s ridiculous penthouse and fucked, and that was pretty great, too.

The week after that Jamie took Tyler to a swanky charity banquet, the kind that costs $10k a plate. Jamie obviously knew a lot of the people there, but none of them had ever paid for Tyler’s company before, so it wasn’t an issue. Jamie introduced Tyler as ‘a friend,’ but he kept one hand on the small of Tyler’s back the whole night in a way that made it clear to anyone watching they weren’t just friendly. Tyler definitely heard some of the society ladies gossiping about how it was about time Jamie got himself a boyfriend. Tyler hadn’t known Jamie long at that point, but he was glad to fill the position.

After that, Jamie started booking Tyler at least twice a week. It’s been a year and a half, and Jamie’s become Tyler’s most regular customer. They go out when there’s an event or sometimes just for dinner, but Jamie mostly likes to stay at home. Tyler doesn’t mind; he likes Jamie’s company, and anyway, that leaves a lot more time for sex.

The sex is… kind of weird, actually. Jamie, Tyler realized quickly, doesn’t like to be touched when his clothes are off. He’s okay with Tyler sucking his dick, but only with his shirt still on and his pants pushed just far enough down to get the job done. He loves fucking Tyler, but only ever doggy style, and he doesn’t like when Tyler tries to reach behind himself to grab Jamie’s hip. Which is a pity, because Jamie is solid in exactly the kind of way Tyler loves, and he would pay to be able to get his hands all over him while they fuck. 

That’s his only real complaint, though. Jamie has some weird hang-ups, but Tyler knows better than to push someone’s sex boundaries. But even without all that, Jamie is the best fuck Tyler’s ever had. It’s part familiarity and part amazing sexual chemistry, but Jamie knows exactly how to make Tyler feel good. He knows what angles make Tyler squirm, how fast and hard Tyler wants it when he’s almost there. He’ll go down on Tyler or eat him out for ages just because of the sounds Tyler makes. And because Tyler’s a cuddleslut, Jamie always puts his clothes back on after they fuck and lets Tyler get all up on him. 

So Jamie’s sweet and funny and a good fuck, and Tyler’s really kind of crazy about him. Jamie obviously feels the same way, because he keeps coming back week after week and paying for the pleasure of Tyler’s company. They’re friends – really fucking good friends – and Tyler would love if Jamie made them something more than that. Tyler wants an exclusive contract and then maybe a ring.

And if Jamie would just get with the freaking program already, that would be really fucking great.

/////

The new baby hookers are named Alex and Brendan, but it takes Tyler a while to pick that up, because they call each other Chucky and Gally. Tyler gets being called Gally, that’s clearly part of his last name, but where the fuck did Chucky come from?

He asks them about it a few days after they sign their contracts while he’s hanging around their apartment waiting for Jamie to text him back. He doesn’t get much of an response from them – Alex glares and Brendan grins, and nothing like a definite answer is produced.

Glaring and grinning are pretty much their default states, Tyler’s noticed. He can only assume Alex is more charming in the bedroom, but honestly who the fuck knows? Some people are into tall, dark and brooding. Tyler prefers them solid but sweet, but that’s just him.

That afternoon, they take the new guys shopping. Well, Tyler and Geno do. Sid, who has a notoriously bad sense of style, stays home, but he gives Geno his blessing and his shiny black credit card for expenses.

Neither Alex nor Brendan is body shy, which is good news for their career, and makes trying on outfits a whole lot simpler. Alex also, it turns out, has a decent sense of style. A little hipster for Tyler’s tastes, but at least he doesn’t gravitate toward ugly flannel shirts or baggie hoodies like Brendan apparently does. 

It’s hard work, building an entire wardrobe. These guys need casual clothes for around the house, sexy clothes for when clients want to stay in, suits and tuxedos for when clients want to go out. Take into account personal style and body type, and it’s a full day’s work.

To reward himself, Tyler picks out a new hat and sends a selfie with it to Jamie.

 _You fuck me in this?_ he asks.

Jamie should be working, but his response is almost immediate.

_Not a chance_

Tyler grins. They’ll see about that.

/////

Tyler’s pretty sure Sid books Tyler with guys on his Jamie nights on purpose, as kind of a passive aggressive fuck you. And okay, Tyler gets it – Sid can’t run a business if Tyler is only fucking one guy a few times a week. The more guys Tyler fucks, the more money they both make. But it does make things really fucking inconvenient. Tyler likes to be at his best for Jamie, not loose and fucked open from the guy before him.

Jamie never seems to notice, at least. Tyler has a few tricks up his sleeve. He always, always showers (that’s just common courtesy for anyone, really), and if he’s feeling particularly fucked open, he’ll just put in a plug and pretend like it’s on purpose. Jamie’s a big enough guy that it doesn’t matter anyway – no matter what state Tyler’s in when he comes over, Jamie always wrecks him by the end of the night.

Tonight is one of those nights where Tyler has back to back clients, and by the time he gets to Jamie’s, he’s crazy tired. Luckily, Jamie doesn’t seem to have plans; he’s sitting on the couch staring down at his tablet with the frown that means he’s thinking hard about something. The gel is coming out of his hair, which means he’s been running his fingers through it. Probably a work-thing, then.

“Watcha looking at?” Tyler asks, falling half onto Jamie’s lap.

“Oof,” Jamie says, juggling the tablet into one hand so he can shove at Tyler. “What the fuck, Segs?”

Tyler doesn’t let Jamie budge him, just gets his arms wrapped around Jamie’s neck and clings.

“You’re a goddamn leech,” Jamie says, pulling weakly at one of Tyler’s arms. He doesn’t sound very upset about it.

“Leeches are good, though,” Tyler says, grinning into Jamie’s neck “They, like, suck out the bad blood.”

“Uh huh,” Jamie says, not buying a word of it. “Whatever you say, Ty.”

He’s stopped trying to push Tyler away, which means it’s safe for Tyler to pull back and grin in his face.

“You telling me you don’t want a leech sucking you off?” he teases. “Like a little leech blowjob.”

Jamie raises one eyebrow. “Are you offering?” he asks.

Tyler snorts. “When am I not?” he says. “But afterward, you totally owe me. I want you to put your tongue in my ass.”

“That sounds like a fair trade,” Jamie says.

“Shake on it,” Tyler says, putting his hand out.

Jamie grabs his hand and doesn’t even hesitate in using the leverage to push Tyler off the couch.

“There,” he says, grinning down at Tyler. “That’s what I call a job well done.”

Tyler groans from his spot on the floor. Jamie, he decides, does not deserve a blowjob tonight. But there is going to be SO much rimming.

/////

Tyler does end up blowing Jamie, actually, but only after he’s come clenching around Jamie’s tongue and fingers. Afterward, they lie together and Tyler tells Jamie about the new baby hookers.

“And they’re together?” Jamie asks, brows furrowing.

“I dunno,” Tyler says. “They’re definitely something. Codependent fuckers, that’s for sure. Like, literally – their audition for Geno was just them fucking. I don’t think they even knew they were auditioning, just decided to go for it in front of a random weirdo.”

Jamie laughs a little and Tyler enjoys the way his body moves with it.

“I don’t know what they’re gonna do when they have to split up to meet clients. They’ll have to get some of those Bluetooth headsets and talk each other through it.”

He cocks his head as an idea hits him, and his cheek mashes against Jamie’s shoulder.

“Actually,” he says. “I could walk them through it. I’ve had enough phone sex, I know how to talk someone through an orgasm. Maybe I should bring it up to Sid. You’ll vouch for me, right?”

“Can’t keep your mouth shut; yep, that sounds about right.”

“Well, if you’d just gag me,” Tyler starts to say, but Jamie growls and manhandles them both until he has Tyler pinned to the bed, legs on either side of Tyler’s hips and hands pushing on Tyler’s shoulders.

“Shut your mouth, Segs,” Jamie says, and then kisses him hard.

They don’t fuck again, but Tyler stays a few more hours anyway. By the time he heads home, the sky is starting to lighten and he’s fucking exhausted all over. His mind’s made up, though: he’s definitely going to ask Jamie about an exclusive contract. They’re totally in love, even if they haven’t actually said it. What’s the worst that could happen?


	4. Tyler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a flashback. Next time we'll check on how the Gallys are settling in. There may even be some SidGeno porn involved... 
> 
> Also, have another Star Wars reference. Two in three chapters ain't bad ;)

Jamie didn’t earn his money, or at least not all of it. His grandfather owns some fancy law firm and his family is all lawyers. For reasons unknown to Tyler but probably having something to do with Jamie finding a suitable spouse, his parents insist he represent the company at various charity functions. Probably they’re hoping Jamie’s going to come home with someone rich and polite and appropriate – someone that will fit into the family right away.

Well, joke’s on them, because Jamie always invites Tyler to those functions and while Tyler makes decent money and has a definite interest in charity, he also sits on dick for a living. Probably if Tyler ever meets Jamie’s parents, that last bit is not going to be on the conversation cards.

Actually, Tyler’s already met Jamie’s brother. It was a complete accident the first time. He was supposed to come over at six so he and Jamie could go to dinner, but he’d been bored and horny so he showed up a few hours early. Any thoughts he had about pre-dinner sex were forgotten pretty quickly, though, because when Jamie answered the door and saw Tyler there, he looked immediately nervous, maybe even scared.

“Who is it?” a guy called from the other room, and Tyler’s heart sank. Was Jamie… was he cheating? Had Tyler been the other woman all this time? They’d been doing this – whatever it was, not a relationship – for eight months now. Had Jamie been seeing Tyler on the side that entire time?

Tyler didn’t know what his face was doing, but Jamie suddenly grabbed his hand and said in a low voice, “My brother’s here. I haven’t told him about… any of this.”

“Oh,” Tyler said, feeling a weight come off his shoulders. Jamie’s brother. Well, huh. Tyler knew he had one, but he hadn’t expected to meet him anytime soon. “Do you, uh, want me to leave?”

He wasn’t surprised Jamie hadn’t told his family about fucking a hooker. Most people were pretty embarrassed about that kind of thing. 

Jamie hesitated (which was gratifying), but the decision was taken out of his hands when another guy sudden appeared behind him. He had a truly amazing beard and also Jamie’s bone structure.

“What’s the hold up, Chubbs?” he asked, clapping Jamie roughly on the shoulder. He caught sight of Tyler and his eyes went wide.

To be fair, Tyler was wearing fuck-me jeans and a t-shirt tight enough to see his nipples. Dinner tonight was _not_ going to be a fancy affair.

“Whoa,” the guy said. He side-eyed his brother. “You, uh, get a new neighbor or something, Jamie?”

Jamie grit his teeth. “No,” he said. “This is Tyler. He’s a friend. Tyler, this is Jordie.”

Tyler didn’t take the introduction personally. He and Jamie were more than friends and he knew it. They were more, even, than a service professional and his client. Jamie was paying for his company, but Tyler would have done it for free if he’d had the option.

“Friend?” Jordie asked and laughed. “You don’t any of those.”

He was joking, obviously, and Jamie just rolled his eyes. 

“You just think that because I keep them all away from you,” he chirped back. “I don’t want anyone knowing I’m related to a walking carpet.”

Jordie laughed again. He seemed… very happy, and possibly a little drunk.

“Well, invite him in,” Jordie said, clapping Jamie on the shoulder again. “Tyler, you like hockey?”

Tyler did, in fact, like hockey. There was a game on TV that they had been watching, and Tyler was down with that idea. He liked sports in general and hockey specifically, and it’s not like it was a hardship to hang out with Jamie, even if his brother was also there.

Jordie was drinking a beer, and he offered Tyler one, which Tyler obviously declined. There was no casual way to say, ‘Actually I’m an addict and if I drink even a beer I’m afraid I’ll relapse,’ but Tyler had a lot of practice saying, “Nah, I’m cool.”

Jamie, who didn’t know the story either but had realized early on Tyler didn’t drink, got him a Coke from the fridge. Jamie really was the best boyfriend ever, because he also got a Coke for himself. It didn’t bother Tyler when people drank before kissing him – it happened all the time in his line of work – but Jamie was a considerate fucker and mostly didn’t drink at all when Tyler was around.

They settled down to watch the game. Tyler tried to be good, to act like the friend Jamie had introduced him as. It didn’t last long. He and Jamie started out with about a half foot of space between them on the couch, but through some kind of alchemy, they ended up practically in each other’s laps. Jamie didn’t seem to mind, not even when Tyler leaned into him and slid fingers into his hair.

“Hands where I can ‘em,” Jordie said once when he looked over and saw their new positions, and Tyler figured their ‘friends’ cover was blown wide open. Ah well, Jordie didn’t seem to mind. Granted, he didn’t know about Tyler being a hooker, but that was need-to-know.

So they chattered back and forth about the game, and Tyler got in some quality Jamie-cuddles. It was going really great, until Jordie set his beer down, grinned at Tyler conspiratorially and said, “So how much is he paying you?”

Tyler froze, because _what?_ Jamie definitely said he hadn’t told his brother about Tyler’s day job. Was he lying? Had Jordie just figured it out? Tyler was dressed kind of slutty, but he didn’t think anything about him immediately said ‘rent boy.’

Jamie was no help at all. He was silent, face tense and pale.

Finally, after an awkward pause, Tyler decided to play it off as a joke. It was a joke, it had to be. Jamie and Jordie liked to razz each other, and this was just Jordie playfully insinuating that someone would have to be paid to date Jamie. Well the joke was on Jordie this time because Jamie was a fucking catch. 

Tyler grinned at Jordie, and said, “More than you could ever afford, dude. I am fucking high class.”

Jordie laughed and took another drink of his beer, then turned his attention back to the game like nothing had happened. And for him, nothing had. Tyler took a deep relieved breath, glad he had been able to play that off. Funny, he’d never had to admit he was a hooker to convince someone he _wasn’t_ a hooker before.

Jamie was a little quiet after that, but he got like that sometimes, so Tyler wasn’t too worried. Probably he was just reflecting on what a close call that had been. If Tyler hadn’t been quick on his feet about it, the whole truth might have come out. Tyler wasn’t ashamed of being a hooker, but he got why Jamie wouldn’t want that spread around.

After the game was over, Jordie got up to leave. He pulled Jamie into a rough hug and clapped Tyler on the back. Then he winked and told them not to do anything he wouldn’t do. As Jordie was apparently straight, probably most of what Tyler and Jamie got up to fell under that category.

“Sorry,” Jamie said after the door closed behind his brother. “I didn’t know he was going to stay so long.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Tyler said. “He seemed cool.” 

He stepped closer and slid his fingers into Jamie’s belt-loops. 

“So about us having sex now…”

Jamie huffed a laugh and let Tyler drag him into the bedroom.

The sex they had that night was… frustrating. Good, obviously, because sex was always good with Jamie, but Tyler thought they had been making progress in little ways. Like, when he blew Jamie, Tyler had been inching his hands up Jamie’s shirt to run fingers over his sides. When they fucked, Tyler had been grabbing Jamie’s hand and pulling him closer so Jamie’s front was flush against Tyler’s back. It wasn’t much, but it seemed like progress.

Now, though, it seemed like everything had been reset. Tyler stripped right away and stretched out on the bed on his belly. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Jamie was getting with the program, but Jamie said, “Don’t look at me.” 

His voice was quiet but firm, so Tyler sighed internally and put his eyes forward again. Back to that, eh?

While Jamie was getting his clothes off, Tyler wondered briefly what went wrong. Was it Jordie reminding Jamie that Tyler was a prostitute? Maybe Jamie was more bothered by that than he seemed. Maybe he could forget it when they fucked, but only if Tyler didn’t actually see him. That… didn’t make much sense, but what else could it have been? Nothing else had happened that would warrant this type of reaction.

Then Jamie put a hand on Tyler’s back, hand trailing lightly down his spine, and Tyler sort of lost the plot.

“You’re so pretty,” Jamie whispered.

Tyler tried not to preen, but unlike Jamie, he enjoyed being seen. Jamie couldn’t see his pleased grin in this position, but it didn’t matter; Tyler would show it to him afterward.  
Jamie slipped one finger down Tyler’s crack to brush along his hole.

“You’re so fucking perfect,” he said, pushing the tip inside.

Tyler gave him a full-body shudder because it felt good, the words and the finger both.

“Do you want me?” Jamie asked, voice still quiet.

“God yes,” Tyler said.

“Why?”

Why? Why _not_?

“It’s gonna feel so good to have you inside me,” Tyler told him.

Jamie pushed further inside, and Tyler groaned with it. Jamie’s fingers were fucking fantastic.

“Come on,” Tyler whined. “Fuck me already.”

“If that’s what you want,” Jamie said, mostly to himself, it seemed like.

He pulled his hand back and leaned over to grab the lube. Then he was back with slick fingers, two pushing into Tyler while his other hand circled Tyler’s dick. Tyler grunted and but his lip, trying to push forward and back at the same time.

“You want it so much,” Jamie said, voice awed the way it always was when Tyler was easy like this. 

“Yeah,” Tyler said. “Yeah. Fuck me, Jamie.”

Jamie spread the fingers in Tyler’s ass apart briefly, just enough of a stretch to make Tyler’s toes curl. Then he pulled them out. He took his hand away from Tyler’s dick, too, and Tyler whined.

“Gimme a minute,” Jamie said. There was a crinkle and a pause, and then Tyler could feel the head of Jamie’s cock pressing against him and in, spreading him open. God, Jamie was so big, it always felt like the wind being shoved out of Tyler’s lungs when he pushed in the first time.

Jamie let him have a moment to catch his breath (the considerate fucker), then he pulled back and snapped forward again. A desperate dirty noise forced its way out of Tyler’s mouth, and he shoved back, wanting more more more.

Jamie gave it to him hard, just the way they both liked, pounding into Tyler in forceful strokes that had Tyler crying out every time. Then Jamie grabbed Tyler’s hips and leaned forward, and the new angle was so good Tyler couldn’t make a sound, just panted through it as the pleasure zinged up and down his body. He could hear Jamie’s ragged breathing, his soft noises. He could feel Jamie’s sweat dripping onto his back, and it should have been so gross, but Tyler just didn’t give a fuck.

Then Jamie took one hand off Tyler’s hip to wrap back around his dick, and Tyler couldn’t help himself: he came hard, clenching around Jamie’s cock in a way that felt so fucking good. Jamie fucked into him a few last hard times and then came, too, making a noise that made Tyler’s breath – what he had left of it – catch in his throat.

It would have been nice to just collapse like that after, Jamie half on top of him. But that wasn’t Jamie’s style. He pulled back and started to get himself dressed. Tyler gave him a minute, then flopped over onto his back to stare at the ceiling.

It wasn’t long before Jamie climbed back onto the bed and into Tyler’s arms. His pants were kind of scratchy against Tyler’s naked skin, but it wasn’t a big deal. The point was, he was holding Tyler down, letting Tyler hold him right back. The point was, they’d just had really fucking good sex.

“That was good,” Tyler said. Then his mouth made an executive decision to add, “Be better if you let me touch you.”

Jamie didn’t say anything, just sighed and buried his face in Tyler’s neck.

Tyler brought a hand up to lazily card through his hair – no gel left at all now. He didn’t know why he’d said that, what he expected Jamie to say in return. It wasn’t his business if Jamie didn’t want Tyler to look at him. It felt like it should be his business, but that was just his stupid emotions talking. He could get over this when everything else about being with Jamie was so damn good. 

He cut them both some slack by changing the subject. 

“Your brother seems nice,” he said.

Jamie snorted a laugh into Tyler’s collarbone.

“Don’t talk about my brother in my bed.”

“He’s a pretty big guy, too,” Tyler mused, just to see what would happen. “Bet he could give it to me pretty good.”

Jamie poked Tyler in the ribs. 

“I’m serious,” he said, but he was halfway to laughing. “Don’t talk about my brother like that.”

“Wonder what he’s packing,” Tyler went on, because he couldn’t help himself. “Think he’d go for it? Two Benns at once, that could be a good ti – ow, don’t hit, you fucker!”

The wrestling match that ensued ended with Tyler getting fucked again, which was pretty much what he’d wanted from the beginning.

Tyler wasn’t wrong, though – Jordie’s a nice guy. They’ve hung out with him a few times since then, and it’s always been a good time. Jordie cares about his brother, and he seems to like Tyler, even if he doesn’t know the truth about him. Sometimes after he leaves, Jamie gets all weird over something he said, but Tyler doesn’t blame Jordie for that. Jamie’s just fucked up or whatever, Tyler gets it. Probably they should talk about that, but Tyler doesn’t even really understand what’s going on and Jamie shuts him down every time he tries. Besides, the bottom line is, even if they did talk about it, Tyler can’t fix whatever’s wrong with Jamie. He can only love him anyway.


	5. Alex

Alex tries to read his contract before signing it, but it's got a lot of words he doesn't know. Sid walks them through it, saying pretty much the same thing he had last night about vetting clients and providing rooms in exchange for 60% of their earnings. Sixty is still a lot, but in the end Alex knows he can't turn it down, not when it gets Brendan off the streets and out of the cold.

There are other papers they have to fill out, too. Sid wants all kinds of stuff from them - full names and place of birth and social security numbers (Brendan's is a social _insurance_ number, apparently). Alex hesitates about all that. One of the first things Brendan taught him after they met was not to give out any information that the social workers could track back to your family. For the past few years, Alex has been saying "I don't know" every time someone asks for his SSN or his previous address.

Sid must see the look on his face, because he says, "Look, if you're here illegally - overstaying a student visa or something - that's fine. Geno knows a guy, we can get it sorted out."

"I'm an American citizen," Alex says immediately, because he can't help himself. "I'm not Russian!"

Sid doesn't look phased. 

"I didn't think you were," he says. "Geno said your accent was too weird to have grown up in Russia."

Alex doesn't know whether to be gratified or insulted. He settles on glaring down at his hands sulkily.

Brendan clears his throat and says, "What about, like, emancipation? Chucky's only seventeen."

"Yeah, for sure," Sid says easily. He grabs his phone to make a note. "We'll take care of it."

It all seems way too easy. No visa, no problem. Underage, they'll sort it out. There's got to be a catch somewhere.

"Hey," Brendan says, and elbows Alex lightly in the ribs. "It's fine, Chuck. I won't let them take you back to Illinois or whatever.”

Alex sighs. “Wisconsin,” he says under his breath. 

He’s not worried about going back, exactly. His parents wouldn’t take him even if he wanted them to, and anyway, he’ll be eighteen soon. But he’s been hiding this stuff for a long time, and it’s not easy to suddenly switch gears.

“Did you forget how to write in English again?” Brendan asks, grinning. “Here, let me show you how it works.”

“Fuck off,” Alex says, but he grabs the pen out of Brendan’s hand and starts to fill out the form.

After they’re finished with paperwork, Sid hands them the key to their new apartment next door. Alex holds his breath as they go inside, because he’s not sure if he’s hoping for one bedroom or two. Having an excuse to sleep in with Brendan every night would be the best kind of torture, and he’s an idiot for wanting it.

It doesn’t matter in the end either way, because there are two bedrooms. There’s also a smallish living room and a kitchen. There’s already some basic food stuff in the refrigerator and cupboards, and Alex thinks it’s a little scary how certain Sid was that they’d say yes to all this. He’s even had their Chinese leftovers from last night moved up here.

“So, lunch?” Brendan asks, obviously deciding to ignore how weird this all is.

Well if Brendan can do it, so can Alex.

They heat up leftovers and eat mostly in silence. It’s not like Brendan to be quiet for so long, but he doesn’t look upset or anything, so Alex lets it go. Anyway, he’s got lots to think about, too. This isn’t like anything he’s ever done before. What if there’s a catch? What if it’s all a front for something? What if Brendan gets hurt because Alex agreed to stay?

It all swirls around and around in his head until Brendan sets his fork down and says, "Okay, that's enough brooding. Fuck, marry, kill: Geno, Sid, Tyler. Go."

"What?" Alex sputters. "No, I'm not doing that."

"Fine, I'll go. Fuck Sid, Marry Geno, Kill Tyler."

Alex lets that sink in. It’s not the first time they’ve played this game (waiting on a corner for johns can get pretty boring), but it is the first time they’ve done it with people they actually know. In the end, all he can think to say is, “Geno’s already married.”

Brendan shrugs. “So we’ll move to Utah. They do that there, don’t they? Polygamy or whatever?”

“I think that’s illegal now,” Alex says, but he’s honestly not sure.

“You know what I miss?” Brendan says suddenly. “The internet. I really fucking miss being able to look shit up whenever I wanted. First thing I’m gonna do with all this hooker money Sid’s promising is buy a smart phone.”

“I thought you wanted clothes,” Alex reminds him.

"Oh... right."

Brendan eyes Alex up for a second. Then he says carefully, “You’d buy me clothes with your hooker money, right Chucky?”

“Hell no,” Alex says immediately. “Get your own, lazy.”

The thing is, he would, though. He’s not proud of it.

Something in his face must give him away.

Brendan grins. “You would,” he says. “You totally would.”

“No way,” Alex says. It sounds weak to his own ears.

“We’ll see,” Brendan says, looking smug. “Now seriously: fuck, kill, marry.”

/////

They end up not having to make the phone vs clothes choice after all, because Sid takes care of all that.

“Perk of the job,” he says the next day, handing them each a box with an iPhone. It’s not the newest gen, but who the fuck cares about that when it’s free?

“If any of your clients want you to text or call them, let me know first so I can work out the billing. The same goes for nudes or video. If anyone ever tries to book a time slot directly through you, send them my way.”

“Right,” Alex says. Brendan isn’t paying attention, already ripping into the box to get the phone out.

“Let me know if you have questions,” Sid says. “About anything. Also, don’t make any plans for this afternoon; Geno’s going to take you guys out to buy clothes.

That, at least, catches Brendan’s attention.

“Clothes?” he says, looking up and cocking his head in a way that’s really very cute. Alex looks away quickly, disgusted. 

“You’ll need a full wardrobe,” Sid explains. “Our clients aren’t the type of people who prowl the streets looking for rough boys. They expect a certain level of class.”

Alex turns slowly and meets Brendan's eyes. Class? Is that something either of them has?

Probably not.

/////

Clothes shopping ends up not being that bad. There’s a lot of nudity, but Alex is used to that by now. As long as he doesn’t pay attention to Brendan’s body, there’s no problem. He focuses instead on Brendan’s lack of style, which he hadn’t known about before and will be great material for teasing in the future.

The day after that, though, the real work begins. They go to muster like usual, but instead of ignoring them when he’s handing out assignments, Sid catches Alex’s eye and says, “You guys stay after. We’re going to do some practice stuff today.”

Practice stuff? That doesn’t sound good. It’s even more worrying when Sid takes them downstairs to one of the client apartments. Geno trails behind them, messing around on his phone. His job, from what Alex gathers, is to provide security when clients are around. Does that mean there’s going to be a client today? Or is Geno just there to make sure Alex and Brendan don’t get spooked and bolt?

They’re using the same apartment they did that first night, the one where Alex fucked Brendan. Sid takes them into the bedroom and has them sit on chairs the same way Geno had then. The whole thing is so similar that Alex has to pinch himself hard and remember that getting a boner right now would not be cool. He’s a professional; he’s here to work.

As long as he doesn’t look at Brendan at all, he might just be able to stick to that.

Sid says, “We’ll start with a demo. Geno has very selflessly volunteered to be our test dummy.”

Geno looks up from his phone, frowns and says, “You dumb, not me.”

Sid huffs a laugh. “Just take off your pants, G.”

And that, more or less, is how Alex and Brendan get to witness Sid giving Geno a blow job. Geno kicks off his pants and sits at the edge of the bed. He’s already turned on and Alex doesn’t blame him, especially not when Sid sinks to his knees in front of him. 

“Getting too old for this,” Sid mutters, then adds to Alex and Brendan, “Watch closely.”

It’s simultaneously very awkward and extremely hot. On the one hand, this feels like an intrusion, like something Alex should definitely not be watching. Sid leans down and wraps his lips around Geno’s cock in a practiced motion and Geno buries his hands in Sid’s hair – not pulling the way guys have done to Alex, but just holding on. They’ve definitely done this before and the way Sid keeps looking up to let their eyes meet feels… special, almost. This isn’t just a blow job, not to them.

On the other hand, though, Sid and Geno are both really fucking hot and Alex couldn’t look away if he tried. All that stuff about not getting a boner went out the window the minute Geno’s pants came off, and Alex would really very much like to put his hand in his pants and get himself off while he watches. His concentration is completely shot and he’s not even the one with a mouth on his dick.

Sid must have a superpower that lets him know when people aren’t paying attention, because after a minute or two he pulls off Geno’s cock (and gives it a lingering lick like he can’t quite help himself) and frowns over at Alex and Brendan.

“Watch the technique,” he says. “Pacing and variety are the most important things here.”

He gives Geno a few wet strokes, then leans in and takes him back in his mouth. Maybe he’s onto something with that technique, because Geno gets loud again almost at once, moaning and swearing in a mix of Russian and English. 

Alex tries hard to keep his focus on what Sid’s doing with his tongue and his hands and ignore how hard he is. He has to bite his lip and keep telling himself that this is important. He needs to learn this stuff if he wants to do well at this job. He’s obviously given blow jobs before, but they were always rushed and sloppy, and mostly guys just fucked his mouth. He’s never had to make it good before, but he wants to know how, for the job and for… personal reasons. That means he’s got to ignore his dick for now.

Geno comes quickly with a loud wordless sound. Sid swallows and pulls away, wiping his hand across his mouth. When he looks over at Alex and Brendan, his expression is smug. Well, he’s earned that look if Geno's boneless, breathless sprawl is any indication. 

“Okay,” Sid says, and his voice is rough. “Your turn.”

Several possibilities immediately occur to Alex. The first is that Sid wants them to take turns with Geno, but he dismisses that as quickly as it comes to him – Geno doesn’t have sex with hookers, and anyway, he probably couldn’t get it up again so quickly. 

The next thought Alex has is that Sid’s going to want Alex and Brendan to practice on _each other_. That idea has its merits (Alex’s mouth is watering already with just the thought), but it would be so goddamn stupid in the same way fucking Brendan was. Alex is never going to get over his crush on Brendan if he keeps having sex with him.

Luckily, Sid has a third option.

“There are some boxes in the hall closet,” he tells Alex. “Can you grab two that say 6.5 realistic?”

Alex nods and goes out into the hall. He takes a second to adjust himself, then opens the closet. There are a bunch of boxes all stacked up, and from the pictures on them, they all look like sex toys. It’s kind of a shock to see them all just sitting there in this random apartment, but it makes sense. Sometimes hookers need sex toys, apparently.

He quickly grabs two of the 6.5 inch realistic dildos and takes them back into the bedroom.

“Thanks,” Sid says. “Give Brendan one. We’re going to practice your technique.”

Like the blow job demonstration a few minutes ago, putting a dildo in his mouth in front of Sid and Brendan is at once both awkward and a little sexy. Alex is gay, alright, he does actually enjoy having cock in his mouth. He doesn’t exactly like people watching him, but it comes with the job, so that’s all fine. 

Neither the awkwardness or the sexiness lasts long. Sid is a serious perfectionist and that extends to blow jobs. He makes them practice their pacing, their tongue technique, the shape their lips make over and over again until everything is just right.

“Obviously it’s different in the moment,” he says. “You’ll have to be the judge about what works best for each client. But I want you guys to have something to fall back on in case you panic.”

And okay, Alex isn’t going to panic. This isn’t his first rodeo. Sure, it was different on the street, but it’s not like he needs step by step instructions on how to get a guy off. So maybe he’s never thought much about technique, but that doesn’t mean he’s bad at giving blow jobs. He just never had to think about all this stuff before.

It doesn’t take long for Alex’s jaw to start to ache and he knows he’s going to be fucking sore tomorrow. He’s used to all that, though. Before he and Brendan really knew what they were doing, they used to go out without lube or prep or anything, and that was the kind of fucking you’d feel for days after. At least these clients aren’t going to be like that, not if Tyler was telling the truth. There’s a difference between sore and actually hurt, and Alex never wants to be the second one again, or let it happen to Brendan.

That’s what makes him keep going, even though he’s sore and embarrassed and feeling stupid. He has to learn this stuff. On the streets it didn't matter how good he was, but Sid’s clients expect more. If Alex’s blow jobs aren’t up to standard, the clients won’t want him and he’ll be right out on the street. He can’t keep Brendan safe out there, so this is his only choice.

Plus, the next guy Alex blows is going to be super fucking impressed with his stamina after all this.

Finally, after at least two hours, Sid gives them a rest.

“That was good,” he says. “We’ll break for lunch. Make sure you guys get some water – hydration is important. Oh, and eat something light; when you come back we’ll be doing anal stuff.”

Alex glances over at Brendan, who looks harassed and is rubbing his jaw.

“Jesus Christ,” he says under his breath.

Alex feels his pain. This is going to be a very long day.

/////

The only good part of the anal stuff is the requisite demonstration at the beginning. Sid gets Geno’s pants off again and together they demonstrate a bunch of different positions while Sid tells them in a breathy voice the merits of each from the client’s perspective. Geno puts up with it for a while, looking long-suffering and turned on, but after about the sixth position he snaps.

“Enough. We fuck now,” he snarls. Then he manhandles Sid onto his back, pushes his legs up, and starts to pound into him.

Alex really can’t help himself this time: he sticks his hand right into his pants and jerks himself off. He doesn’t look around at Brendan but can hear him doing the same. It’s all just so stupidly hot and the noises Sid makes are husky and pained, and when he comes, Alex does, too.

There's a long minute after where they all just breathe hard. Then Sid’s head thunks back against the bed and he looks at Alex and Brendan ruefully.

“Let’s take another break. Fifteen minutes, then come back.”

Alex doesn’t need to be told twice, just grabs Brendan’s wrist and hauls him out of the room.

“What the fuck,” Brendan hisses. His eyes are wide and there’s a wet spot spreading on his pants.

Alex doesn’t know what to say. He stares at Brendan, who’s still panting. His lips are red, probably from biting them, and Alex would give anything to kiss him right now. But that would be dumb, so instead he looks down at where his fingers are wrapped around Brendan’s wrists. Brendan his nice wrists, Alex has always thought so.

They would be really fucking great to pin down while he and Brendan fucked. 

“We should, uh, get cleaned up,” Brendan says at last.

“Yeah,” Alex agrees. He forces himself to let go of Brendan and step back. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

They take turns in the bathroom, wiping the jizz out of their pants as best they can. They’re still sticky afterward, but they probably won’t have their clothes on for much longer anyway. 

When they get back to the bedroom, Sid is fully dressed and waiting. Geno is nowhere to be found.

“Right,” Sid says. “Sorry that got out of hand. Have a seat, let’s talk about prep work.”

/////

They have sexual workshops like that for the next two days. Alex’s boner is pretty much constant that entire time, but it’s not always a good thing. He’s not always even really turned on, his body just thinks he is. Actually, there are times when he thinks he’ll never be turned on again. Of course, the minute he thinks that, something will always happen (Sid will have another demonstration or Brendan will bend over with a plug in his ass), and Alex will be forced to reevaluate.

By the third night, Alex is fucked out and cranky about it. He’s lying on his back on the couch in their apartment, trying to get comfortable. The couch isn’t quite long enough, and his feet hang awkwardly over the end.

The situation is not helped (or maybe it sort of is, who even knows) by Brendan coming over to flop down on top of him. 

“Oof,” Alex says reflexively. “What the fuck, Gally, get off!”

“I couldn’t get off if I tried,” Brendan says, and lets his head thump onto Alex’s shoulder. “My dick is fucking sore, man. I didn’t know that could happen. It wasn’t like this on the street, eh?”

It wasn’t, and that’s something Alex has been thinking about, too. The biggest difference, he thinks, is that as uncomfortable and sometimes painful as quick sex for cash was, it was always over fast. There was never anything prolonged about it, not like the last few days have been, not like the client interactions will be from now on. This job is cleaner and safer, but it’s more work, too.

There’s a knock on the front door, and Alex groans at the thought of having to get up to answer it.

Brendan doesn’t even bother.

“Come in!” he shouts in that general direction.

There’s a pause and a scuffling sound, then Tyler comes through the door with two pizza boxes in hand. It smells really fucking great and Alex realizes suddenly how hungry he is again. Fucking takes a lot of energy, apparently.

“Hey guys,” Tyler says, setting his boxes down on the coffee table. “You hungry?”

“I literally never turn down pizza,” Brendan says, and the thought must give him the energy to push himself upright. Alex sits up more slowly, muscles aching everywhere.

“You can sit,” he tells Tyler, because Brendan has no manners and is just digging in.

Tyler does.

“Thanks,” he says. “Jamie gets pizza delivered for me sometimes on my days off cuz he knows I like it, but he always orders way too much for one person. I usually take it over to Claude’s and let his little monsters destroy it, but no one's home. I think they're visiting their dad or something today.”

“We will gladly help you solve this problem,” Brendan says around a mouthful of pizza. 

Brendan doesn’t say anything about how weird it is that Tyler’s client sends him pizza as a gift. Probably he just isn't paying attention or maybe he's starting to think it's normal. And maybe it is in this line of work. Maybe they're all destined to end up as personal sex kittens to rich men.

Brendan makes a noise of pleasure as he takes another bite, and Alex looks over at him. He’s got pizza sauce on his cheek and he looks ridiculous. No way would any sane client fall in love with him. No freaking way. 

It's such a crazy thought that Alex isn't even going to worry about it. The uneasy feeling in his stomach is probably just hunger. He reaches over and grabs a slice of pizza.

It’s all going to be fine. Only an idiot would ever fall in love with Brendan Gallagher. Alex should know.


	6. Alex

Alex hasn’t had his picture taken in about two years, not since his very first social worker needed a picture for her file. She’d pushed him up against a beige wall and taken out a crappy digital camera. She’d still had the flash on even though the room was brightly lit, and he’d been blinking spots out of his eyes for at least five minutes afterward. He never got to see that picture, but he thinks he probably looks awful in it. 

That was just a few weeks after he ran away from home and the only good thing that had happened to him in all that time was an older kid – tiny and bruised all to hell but still smiling – pulling him aside and warning him not to say anything about his family, not if he didn’t want to have to go back to them. That kid was Brendan, obviously, but Alex didn’t know that yet. All Alex could see then was a smile and a black eye, and for the first time in a long time, he felt like he wasn’t alone.

Brendan’s using that same smile now on Sid, and Alex might be jealous about it except he knows it’s all a show for the camera. It’s working, too – Brendan looks fucking good right now. Alex would pay to meet him… if he had the money. Which he doesn’t. Stupid to even think of, really. 

“Okay, that’s good,” Sid says. “Alex, your turn.”

Alex adjust his shirt and takes his place on the chair. This is not like any picture he’s had taken before. For one thing, there’s a professional photographer with the fanciest camera Alex has ever seen. For another thing, he’s supposed to be acting sexy. The good news on this front is that Alex is wearing new clothes, has had his hair styled, and hasn’t been allowed to shave for three days. The bad news is that he’s perpetually awkward. It’s a personal failing.

“Stop fidgeting,” Sid says.

Alex freezes.

“Okay,” Sid says slowly. “That’s good. But don’t make that face.”

Alex doesn’t know what face he’s making, but he tries to rearrange it into something else, something sexy.

Sid sighs. “Let’s try this a different way. Alex, close your eyes and think about someone you’re really attracted to. Got it? Okay, now think about fucking him. Think about how that felt. Was he tight around you? Did he make noise when you were inside him?”

Alex immediately thinks of the night he fucked Brendan, about how tight and hot and _right_ that felt. And the noises Brendan made… God.

“Open your eyes, Alex.”

Alex does, and immediately looks over at Brendan, who’s loitering behind Sid and messing around with his phone. He looks blissfully unconcerned. Does he know Alex is thinking of him? Does he ever think about what it felt like to have Alex over him and inside him? Does he want to do it again?

Alex is too busy looking to pay attention to the camera clicking, but few minutes later, Sid makes a satisfied sound.

“That should do it,” he says. “Now strip. We’ll do the nude ones next.”

“Nude?” Alex repeats, whipping his head back to look at him. Sid didn’t say anything about _nude_ pictures this morning.

Brendan snorts a laugh and Alex glares at him.

“Don’t laugh,” he says. “You’re next.”

Brendan shrugs, unconcerned. “Sure,” he says. “But I’m actually hot, so.”

Alex turns imploring eyes on Sid. “Can we get him a mirror?” he asks.

Sid looks thoughtful. “Actually,” he says. “Some mirror pictures could be sexy.”

Brendan laughs. Alex palms his face.

“Hey,” Sid snaps. “Don’t touch your face! Do you want to go through makeup again?”

Alex sighs.

/////

After the photographer leaves and they’re allowed to put their clothes back on, Sid sits Alex and Brendan down and shows them the profiles he’s writing for them on their site.  
They’ve each got basic stuff – height, weight, eye color – but there’s also more detailed information.

“Hey!” Alex says when he sees the phrase ‘exotic Russian beauty’.

“You have to play to your strengths,” Sid says. “They’re expecting Russian so you have to give them Russian.”

“Shut up,” Alex tells Brendan, who’s quietly dying of laughter next to him. “At least my profile doesn’t say twink in it!”

Brendan stop laughing at once. 

“Wait,” he says, sitting up abruptly. “What?”

Sid sighs the sigh of a man who’s had to put up with The Gally and Chucky Show for many days now. Alex knows that sigh; he hears it often.

“On second thought,” Sid says, “I’ll just show you when it’s all finished and the pictures are up. In the meantime, I need you guys to come up with some interests – things you can talk to clients about. If you don’t have any, now’s a good time to develop some. There’s a library in this neighborhood if you need some ideas.”

Alex considers. Interests, huh? Does he have any of those?

Sid makes them leave after that, so they go back to their apartment and screw around for a while. The thing is… they really don’t have any interests, and that means downtime is kind of boring. It hasn’t been an issue for a while because the last few days have been super busy and before that they were just trying to survive. Being mostly homeless is exhausting and mind-numbering, and you’re bored constantly. That’s just to be expected. But if they’re going to stay here (and Alex assumes they really are at this point), they’re going to have the free time and cash to entertain themselves.

So… interests, then.

“You have interests?” Alex asks, poking Brendan with one of his feet. They’re on opposite ends of the couch but their legs are sort of tangled together on the middle cushion. 

Brendan lets out a long sigh that ends with his face scrunched up in thought.

“I dunno man. Like, I guess I like sports.”

“Yeah, who doesn’t,” Alex says. “That’s no help.”

Brendan scratches an ear, still thinking.

“I like… music? Games on my phone? Dumb YouTube videos?”

Alex stares at him in disbelief. Is that really the best they can do?

Brendan shrugs. “I don’t see you trying to come up with anything.”

Alex thinks about it. He rubs his nose. He thinks some more.

Finally he says, “I like… cats.”

Brendan starts to laugh.

“Oh my god,” he says, shoulders shaking. “We need so much help here.”

“Library?” Alex asks after another minute of having no ideas. 

Brendan nods. “Get your coat.”

The thing is, they actually do have winter coats now, and that means the fifteen minute walk to the library isn’t such a big deal. It’s a small place, but they’ve got a section on crafts and hobbies that Alex and Brendan raid. They have to sign up for library cards, but that’s fine. Not like social services is going to track them down through the library system. And anyway, Sid’s going to make them legit so they don’t have to worry anymore.

Neither of them thought to bring a bag to carry their books back in, so they each have to grab a stack and make the best of the walk back. Gloves, Alex thinks, will be one of the things he buys with his first paycheck.

Tyler catches them as they’re coming into the apartment building – he’s going down the stairs as they’re coming up – and he does a double take.

“Uh,” he says, giving them a weird look. “What the hell are you guys doing? Did you rob a bookstore or something?”

Alex glares at him around his tower of books. 

“We’re developing interests.”

“Any interest in reading?” he asks, still giving them the look.

Alex sighs. “Sid said we had to develop interests for clients. So that’s what we’re doing.”

Tyler looks at them and then at the books. Then he snorts a laugh and checks his watch.

“Okay,” he says. “I’ve got like half an hour before I actually have to leave. Show me what you’ve got so far.”

He follows them back up to their apartment and they go through all the books they borrowed.

“ _Urban Botanics_ ,” Tyler reads. “ _Knitting for Beginners. The Ultimate Guide to Soap Making. Basket Weaving 101. Feng Shui for the Soul_.”

He looks up at them and his face is doing a weird thing like he’s maybe trying not to laugh.

“Uh… are you guys sure this what Sid wanted you to do?”

Brendan shrugs with one hand. “He said interests. These are interests.”

“Well yeah,” Tyler says. “But are you actually, you know, _interested_ in any of them?”

“It’s developing,” Alex tells him.

Tyler rolls his eyes and puts down _Feng Shui for the Soul_.

“Look, I’m not saying don’t get into any of this stuff if you’re actually interested. But the whole point in having interests is so you can have a conversation with your clients. That means you have to pick stuff they might actually like, too. Stuff like charity, art, cars. Rich people things, you know?.”

“Oh,” Alex says, because he hadn’t thought of it that way before. Judging by the look on Brendan’s face, he hadn’t either. “So, like, travel, right?”

Rich people like to travel and Alex could have the edge there. He hasn’t been to that many places, but he did live in Italy for a while as a kid. If a client wanted to talk about traveling the world or whatever, Alex thinks he knows enough to have a conversation about it. He could get some books on that, probably, and make it even better.

“Yeah, sure,” Tyler says.

“I could like art, I guess,” Brendan says slowly. “Or charity.”

“I’ve got some art books at my place, if you ever want to borrow them,” Tyler offers. “They don’t get much use. Jamie’s not really into art, so I mostly just leaf through them to keep fresh for new clients.”

“Yeah, sure,” Alex says. Then he adds a belated, “Thanks.”

“No prob,” Tyler says. He checks his watch again. “I should probably go. I’ll bring the books by later.”

After he leaves, Alex looks around at their mess.

“What we’re gonna do with all these stupid hobby books?” he wonders aloud.

“I think,” Brendan says slowly, picking up _Knitting for Beginners_ , “we should do a start-up. Like, use our hooker money to buy some craft supplies, learn how to do this shit, and then sell it on Etsy. Then we’ll have hooker money _and_ craft money. Think about it, Chucky – we could be artists.”

Alex doesn’t want to laugh because he doesn’t want Brendan to think he’s funny, but he can’t help it – he laughs and Brendan grins and then Alex has to climb over to his side of the couch and put him in a headlock, because that expression never means anything good. And if he enjoys the feeling of Brendan’s body under his a little too much, well, that’ll just be his little secret.

/////

They tell Sid about their newfound interests the next morning after muster, and Sid puts the finishing touches on their profiles.

“These’ll go up later today,” he says. “We’ll do a special at first to get some attention, then take it back up to full price after a few weeks.”

“You really think we’ll have clients?” Alex asks. He doesn’t doubt Sid knows what he’s doing but… who would actually pay that much money to spend time with Alex or Brendan? A quick fuck, sure, but prolonged exposure? It doesn’t seem likely.

“Yeah, for sure,” Sid says easily. “We usually have a lot more boys than we do right now, so we had to put some of our regular clients on the waitlist. They all have preferences, obviously, but between the two of you, you should be able to suit their needs. I’ve got a couple middle-aged ladies who like their boys tall, young, and a little helpless. You’ll be perfect for that, Alex.”

Brendan starts to laugh, but then Sid adds, “And Brendan, I have a few guys looking for a twink they can rough up a little bit, so you should have a built-in client base, too.”

That shuts Brendan up, at least. Alex gives him a smug smile, but his heart isn’t really in it. He doesn’t want to think about other guys roughing Brendan up. It’s one thing for Alex to do it, but the thought of someone else laying hands on Brendan makes Alex want to punch something.

He pushes the feeling down. That’s stupid. It’s so fucking stupid. Brendan isn’t Alex’s to have. He doesn’t get to feel that way. This is what they both have to do if they want to survive. There’s no room for dumb feelings in there.

Alex just has to keep telling himself that.

/////

They get their first assignments the next day. After they eat, Sid hands Tyler two assignments (neither of them is Jamie, and Tyler pouts about it). Claude gets three assignments, and Brendan and Alex each get one.

“That was quick,” Brendan says, and Alex agrees. Didn’t their profiles only go live yesterday afternoon? Who could be in such a hurry to get into their pants?

“Sid good at job,” Geno says.

Alex tries not to feel so gloomy about it.

“Who did you get?” Brendan asks as they’re walking back to their apartment. He leans around Alex to get a look at the profile. “Oh. A guy? I thought Sid said you would be getting all ladies?”

“Guess not,” Alex says. He’s not sure if he’s relieved or not about that. He’s got nothing against women but he’s never had sex with one, either, and Sid’s lessons had only had a little bit about pleasing them sexually. With a guy, though, things could get more complicated. Alex isn’t attracted to women and knows he can keep it professional no matter what happens. But with a guy… what if Alex doesn’t like it and his dumb emotions mess him up? Or worse, what if Alex _does_ like it? Can he be okay with that? Will it feel like cheating on Brendan? It shouldn’t – there’s nothing between Alex and Brendan except friendship – but what if it does anyway? 

“I’ve got a guy, too,” Brendan says, and Alex almost misses a step going down the stairs.

“Whoa,” Brendan says, flinging an arm out to steady him. “You cool, man?”

“I’m fine,” Alex says. “Just… be careful.”

“On the steps?” Brendan asks, laughter in his voice. “Dude, I am careful. I’m not the one who keeps tripping on them. That’s all you.”

“Tonight,” Alex clarifies. “Be careful tonight. You don’t know what this guy is going to be like. Sid said… he said some of them might be rough.”

Brendan shrugs. 

“You know I like it rough. Anyway, Geno won’t let it go too far. He’s gonna be creeping on the camera, they said.”

“Right,” Alex says.

Alex doesn’t know Geno that well yet, but he knows him enough to trust him to have their backs if something goes wrong. He would feel better about the whole thing if _he_ was the one watching Brendan’s back, but… that would be a terrible idea even if they’d let him. Alex isn’t sure he could stop himself from punching any guy who touched Brendan, even if the guy wasn’t crossing the line. 

“Hey,” Brendan says. He stops walking and turns to look up into Alex’s face. “It’s gonna be fine. We’re gonna be great. We are gonna be the best goddamn escorts ever.”

Alex blinks. Brendan must think he’s nervous and that’s what this freakout is about. Well, better he think that than the truth.

He manages to give Brendan a smile.

“I know I'll be great,” he says, “You… you’ll just be okay.”

Brendan glares playfully. 

“We’ll see,” he says. “We’ll just fucking see.”

/////

Brendan’s actually not wrong about one thing: Alex is slightly nervous about tonight. This is different than anything he’s ever done before and there’s a lot riding on it. It would be weirder if he _wasn’t_ nervous, probably.

His palms are sweating as he gets dressed that night. No need to wear anything too fancy – he’s only going downstairs – but he wants to put on something sexy. The profile said the guy’s name is David, and he was a regular client before but has been on the waitlist for about two months. He likes to keep conversation short and get right to business. Alex should be able to handle that.

The appointment is for seven, so Alex goes down at six forty. He passes by the back office where Geno is sipping coffee and watching the monitors.

“Good luck,” he tells Alex in Russian. “If you need anything, flag me down.”

“Thanks,” Alex says, and he means it.

The appointment is in apartment 102, so Alex waits on the couch, trying not to sweat through his shirt. He doesn’t have long to wait, at least. At five til, Geno opens the door for a tall guy with dark hair. David, Alex presumes.

Geno doesn’t stick around, so it’s Alex and David after that. Alex wipes his hands on his pants covertly before holding out it out to shake. He wouldn’t normally offer his hand to someone he’s about to bone, but the profile did say this was all business.

“I’m Alex,” he says.

David takes his hand easily. He’s got a firm grip.

“David,” he says. “I like your accent. Your profile said you speak Russian?”

“Yes,” Alex says.

David nods. “Good. The guy I had before you would say dirty things in Czech. That was nice, but Russian will be fine.”

Alex is a offended, but only a little. What was it Sid had said? They’re expecting Russian, so give them Russian.

“I can’t wait to take you to bed,” Alex says in Russian.

David smiles. “Good,” he says. “We’ll get along just fine.”

What David actually wants is for Alex to sit on his cock, so they go into the bedroom and get undressed. David lies back on the bed and closes his eyes.

“This is my relaxation time,” he explains, stroking himself hard. “So take it slow.”

Alex can do that. He's lubed up already (the lessons from the street are still coming in handy), so he just climbs aboard and does some easy grinding. David seems to like that, and he likes it even more when Alex remembers to say some sexy stuff in Russian.

With a pace like that, it takes a while. By the time David finally comes, Alex’s thighs are fucking aching. Still, he’s had worse, and David seems happy with it.

“Thank you,” he says, and after he’s done dressing he pulls out a hundred dollar bill for Alex.

“A tip,” he says. “I know you boys work hard. I’ll see you again in two weeks?”

“Yes,” Alex says, fumbling the money into his pocket awkwardly. “I… thank you.”

“Have a good night,” David says pleasantly. He slips on his jacket and then he’s gone.

And that... was kind of weird, but profile hadn’t been wrong – it was certainly business-like. Not bad, though. Alex is sore (will probably be a lot worse tomorrow), but he did well. And he even got a tip!

He leaves the apartment without tidying up (they pay for a cleaning company for the entire first floor), and heads back upstairs. Brendan’s already back, which isn’t surprising given how long David took to come.

“Hey,” Brendan says when Alex comes into the living room. He’s lying on the couch and his hair is wet, which means he’s already showered. Alex should probably do that, too.

“Hi,” Alex says. He tries not to look for hickeys or marks from Brendan’s client. “How… how your night was?”

“It was fine,” Brendan says easily. He yawns and stretches. “Guy didn’t have much rhythm, but he smelled nice, and that’s already better than some of the guys we had before. Came pretty quick. Wanted to see me get myself off afterward. Getting paid to jack off… this is the life, Chucky.”

He rolls over onto his stomach and puts his head on his folded arms. Alex looks away quickly from the line of his bare back, swallowing hard.

“How was your guy?” Brendan asks.

“Fine,” Alex says. “He… he liked my Russian.”

Brendan snorts. “Bad taste,” he says. “But I guess anyone that wants to fuck you was gonna be a freak either way.”

Alex’s stomach clenches and he has to turn away.

“I’m going to bed,” he says.

“Oh,” Brendan says, and scrambles to sit up. “Hey Chucky, you’re… you’re okay, right? Your guy treated you okay?”

“Yeah,” Alex tells him. “It’s fine.”

And it is fine. Nothing is going wrong, so there’s no excuse for why Alex feels crushed all of a sudden. It’s not like he didn’t know before that Brendan would never want him. Nothing’s changed just because Brendan’s spelled it out. 

Probably Alex is just overreacting because he’s tired. It’ll be better tomorrow. Maybe he'll even buy them some ice cream or something with his tip from tonight. Then Brendan will look up at Alex with ice cream on his nose, and he'll smile at Alex, and then...

Alex shakes his head and stops that thought in its tracks. Stupid. He's so stupid.

He takes a shower and then he goes to bed.


	7. Tyler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Think a Claude chapter will be next. Haven't heard much from him and he's got a story that needs told.

Tyler and Jamie are supposed to have a date at noon, but Tyler ends up leaving his place later than he’d like. It’s Alex’s fault, honestly. He’d been looking gloomy as fuck at muster and hadn’t wanted to talk about it, so Tyler suggested the two of them hit the gym. He’d figured it would give them an opportunity to talk without the pressure (Tyler can totally do subtle, no matter what Jamie says), but Brendan tagged along and ruined that idea. Still, it had been a pretty good workout, and Tyler had lost track of time.

He only ends up being about twenty minutes late by the time he lets himself into Jamie’s penthouse, but he he’s still late enough to be in a hurry. That’s why he doesn’t notice he oxfords just inside the door until he’s almost tripped over them. He catches himself just in time with a hand against the wall and neatly steps around the shoes. It’s weird – Jamie is usually so organized.

Then he catches sight of the rest of the apartment.

“Whoa,” he says under his breath. It’s like a clothing store exploded – there are suit jackets on the couch, dress shirts on the coffee table, ties all over the fucking place.

“Jamie?” he calls. “You get robbed or something, man?”

Actually, this is kind of the opposite of that, like someone _brought stuff over_ instead of taking it. But Tyler doesn’t know the word for that process. What’s it called when people give you stuff? Donation? That doesn’t really fit the situation. Actually, what the hell is the situation? What’s going on here?

“Tyler?” Jamie calls out. “That you? I’m in the bedroom.”

Tyler licks his lips. The bedroom, eh? That sounds promising.

The bedroom is just as much of a mess as the living room, it turns out. Jamie’s sitting in the middle of his bed, surrounded by dress pants and undershirts. He’s got a harried expression on his face and his hair…

“Holy shit,” Tyler breathes. “You cut your hair.”

When they first met, Jamie’s hair was just long enough to slick back and part, and that had been fine – attractive, even. But since then, Jamie’s been letting it grow out, and the resulting look has been... a little bit of a mess, put delicately, especially because he’s still been trying to slick it back even as it crept down past his collar. Tyler hasn’t minded, obviously, because Jamie’s still hot as fuck even with bad hair. 

This, though… this takes Tyler’s breath away. It’s shaved close at the sides with the top left a little longer – enough that Tyler could still run his fingers through it. There isn’t any gel in it now, which means Jamie hasn’t left the apartment yet.

“Holy shit,” Tyler says again.

“What?” Jamie asks, and looks up. His eyes are the same liquid brown they always are, but with the hair and the stubble he’s rocking, it’s a striking picture.

“You’re just,” Tyler starts, and fumbles for a way to finish the thought. “You’re just so fucking hot right now.”

Jamie’s eyebrows crinkle together, and he looks down at himself.

“Uh,” he says, “I think you need your eyes checked.”

It’s true he’s wearing cargo shorts and an old varsity baseball t-shirt, but it’s not like Tyler being able to see his nipples or his strong calves is a bad thing.

“My eyes are fine,” Tyler says, coming closer. “Might not be for much longer though; they say you’re not supposed to look directly at the sun.”

Jamie laughs. “That’s a smooth line, there, Segs. You use that on all the boys?”

“Just the ones I want to blow,” Tyler says.

He climbs onto the bed, and then onto Jamie’s lap, pushing clothes out of the way as he goes. They kiss for a long minute, Tyler enjoying the feel of Jamie’s strong arms going around him. But he’s impatient, so he pulls back and shoves at Jamie’s shoulders.

“Lie back,” he says, and Jamie does.

Tyler scrambles further down Jamie’s legs and starts to work on his fly. Jamie lifts his hips so Tyler can pull his pants and underwear down just enough to free his dick.

“There we go,” Tyler says, and licks his lips. 

“Segs,” Jamie says, sounding a little bit impatient. He reaches down to put his fingers in Tyler’s hair.

Tyler doesn’t make him wait, just leans down and wraps his lips around Jamie’s cock. And yeah… that’s exactly what Tyler wanted. Maybe Tyler’s a little bit of a cock slut, but Jamie’s got a good one – thick and pretty, and so damn tasty.

He’s definitely going to enjoy this.

/////

Later, Tyler finally gets around to asking about the mess.

“I’m going on a business trip,” Jamie explains. “Two weeks in Seattle. One of the companies my team contracts with is having this big conference.”

“Oh,” Tyler says, trying not to feel disappointed. “Two weeks. That’s, uh, a long time, eh?”

It is, too. Jamie’s gone on overnight trips before, but in the year and a half he and Tyler have been seeing each other, they haven’t been apart for more than maybe three days at a time.

“Yeah,” Jamie says. He rubs his thumb across Tyler’s hip. “I was thinking, um, maybe you’d come with me. Would that be… something you’d want to do?”

Tyler just stares. Jamie wants him to go? For two weeks? No other guys to sleep with, nothing to do except be with Jamie for two whole weeks?

“Yeah,” he says as soon as he can get his mouth to work. “Yeah, of course! Let me work it out with Sid, but he won’t say no. When?”

“I have to be there Monday.”

That’s not much time. Tyler’s going to have to talk to Sid tonight.

/////

“A private contract?” Sid asks, eyebrows scrunched.

“Just for two weeks,” Tyler clarifies. He hasn’t gotten around to asking Jamie about a permanent one (he’s a coward, he’ll admit it), but this’ll be a great opportunity to bring that up. Like, ‘Hey, we’ve been so good together for the past two weeks, why not make it a forever kind of thing?’

Sid doesn’t say anything to that, and Tyler resorts to pouting (it works for Geno, after all).

Sid sighs.

“Fine,” he says. “I’ll negotiate a price with him. But I hope you know how much money you’re costing me, Seguin. You’re doing double-time when you get back.

It’s an empty threat and they both know it – Sid cares too much about his boys (and, okay, their product quality) to make them do more than a few clients a night. 

Besides… maybe when Tyler gets back, Sid will be drawing up a different type of private contract – a permanent one.

/////

“I’m gonna be working most of the time,” Jamie warns Tyler that night on the phone. “Meetings all day. But there’ll be dinners with the clients every night, so you can come to those. And we’ll have the weekends to ourselves. Bring your passport, okay?”

“We going out of country?” Tyler asks.

“I figured we could go up to Victoria for a day, see the gardens or something.”

Tyler grins to himself. A date, then. This romantic fucker.

“Sounds nice,” he says, playing it cool. “What kind of clothes should I pack?”

Jamie hums, thinking. “Something warm. It won’t be as cold there as here, but you’ll need a coat, probably a hat. Something nice for dinner. And then just whatever you want the rest of the time.”

“And if I want to be naked the rest of the time?” Tyler teases.

“Seattle is very open-minded,” Jamie deadpans.

“Okay,” Tyler says. “It’s a plan, then. My suitcase will be _very_ light.”

/////

The plane ride out is longer than Tyler was expecting. They have a layover in Detroit, but even without that, the flight is long and very boring. Like, he knew objectively that it’s a big country, but he didn’t count on just how many hours it would take to cross it.

At least they’re in first class, so the seats aren’t as uncomfortable as they would be in coach. Jamie lets Tyler have the window seat so Tyler spends a lot of the time staring down first at flat plains and tiny cities, then at huge mountain ranges.

“I’ve never been this far west,” he says idly at one point.

Jamie looks over from where he’s doing something work-related on his tablet. 

“No?”

Tyler shrugs. “I went to Wabakimi once when I was a kid,” he offers. “In western Ontario. But that was the farthest I’ve been this direction.”

“Huh,” Jamie says. “You seem like the type of guy who would travel all the time.”

“Nah,” Tyler says. “We were poor. And now that I’ve got the money for it, I just work all the time.”

“You should find guys who want to take you places,” Jamie suggests. “Tell Sid anyone who doesn’t travel is off the list.”

Tyler laughs. “Yeah, I’m sure he’ll go for that. We can start up-charging my services; travel stuff is always more expensive.”

Jamie nods and ticks things off on his fingers. “Travel pillow, travel toothbrush, travel escort. I like the sound of that.”

“Good,” Tyler says, and yawns. “Write Sid an email before we forget.”

“You got it,” Jamie says. Then his smile turns a little softer, and he adds, “You want my jacket to use as a pillow?”

Tyler immediately makes grabby fingers. Jamie shrugs off his hoodie and hands it over. Tyler shoves it between his face and the window. It’s still warm and it smells like Jamie’s soap.

“You gonna be okay if I nap?” he asks.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me,” Jamie says absently, eyes already back on his tablet. 

Tyler _does_ worry about him – and constantly – but none of it’s ever about his ability to entertain himself.

“Cool,” he says, and closes his eyes.

/////

Landing in SEATAC is rough, but Jamie is a fucking brick wall as always and he’s kind enough to let Tyler hold his hand (and okay, maybe Tyler exaggerates a tiny bit about how flustered he is, but it’s not like he’s hurting anyone). They deplane, get their bags, and then grab a taxi to their hotel in Bellevue.

“Whoa,” Tyler says, staring around at the streets. “This place is swanky.”

Jamie shrugs like it’s nothing – and maybe for him it is. Jamie’s been rich his whole life, after all. Maybe fancy cities with lights strung in the trees is something that’s only impressive to people like Tyler (who admittedly makes good money now but still feels like a broke kid most of the time). 

The hotel is classy but the room is fairly standard – just a king size bed, a couch, and a bathroom suite attached. 

“We could upgrade if you want,” Jamie offers, watching Tyler’s face. “If you’re going to spend a lot of time in here.”

Tyler shrugs and puts his suitcase down near the door.

“Nah,” he says. “The most important thing is that the bed is big enough for two.”

He winks and starts to unbutton his pants.

Jamie blinks. 

“You have a point,” he says, and flicks off the lights.

/////

Tyler spends most of the next few days exploring the neighborhood. There’s a about a million and a half little restaurants and cafes where can kill a few hours at a time, and when he wants to stretch his legs he heads to the park or the mall.

They do the client dinners, and that’s not a bad time. The food is mostly good (Seattle has a fetish with organic locally-grown food, apparently), and all of Jamie’s clients seem like pretty cool people. Tyler turns up the charm, and it’s not long before he’s got at least half the table grinning at him when he catches their eyes.

“They’ve started asking about you,” Jamie reports halfway through the first week. 

“Yeah?”

Tyler’s not really paying attention to the conversation, but it’s not his fault – Jamie’s the one who stuck his hand down Tyler’s pants.

“Yeah,” Jamie says. He pauses and his grip slackens until Tyler whines and arches up into it.

“Sorry,” Jamie says at once and tightens his fist again. “They, uh, want us to go drinking with them.”

“Okay,” Tyler says, eyes falling shut. “W-whatever.”

“You’re okay with that?” Jamie sounds tentative. “I can make excuses-”

“It’s fine,” Tyler says. “You think I’ve never been to a bar before? I’ll be fine. But seriously, you need to fuck me now.”

Jamie makes a pleased sound and gives Tyler one last stroke before pulling his hand out of his pants. He gives the wet smear on his hand a considering look, then puts his fingers in his mouth.

“Oh Jesus,” Tyler breathes.

Jamie pulls his hand out of his mouth with an obscene wet noise, and he grins at Tyler.

“Problem?”

“Fuck me, you fucker,” Tyler says.

Jamie smacks his thigh.

“Take your pants off,” he says. “Turn over.”

Tyler shoves his pants down his legs and kicks them off the bed. He starts to turn over, then hesitates, remembering the thing he’d packed just for a moment like this.

“What?” Jamie asks, looking confused.

Tyler licks his lips. “Do you think,” he asks carefully, “we could try something different?”

Jamie’s lips thin and he turns his head away like he can’t bring himself to meet Tyler’s eyes.

“Ty…”

“Wait,” Tyler says, and sits up to grab his hand. “Hear me out, okay? I have a blindfold in my bag. I thought maybe you could put it on me and then we could fuck face to face.”

Jamie looks back at him slowly. He’s biting his lip and he’s not saying anything, but it looks like he might actually be considering it.

“I like it from behind,” Tyler adds quickly. “But wouldn’t it be nice to switch it up?”

Jamie still doesn’t say anything for a long moment. Then his eyes cut to Tyler and away again quickly.

“Okay,” he says at last. “Yeah, let’s try it.”

Tyler can’t quite suppress his grin.

“Awesome,” he says, and leans up to kiss Jamie on the cheek. “This is gonna be great.”

He doesn’t waste any time grabbing his bag and rifling though it for the blindfold he packed. It’s green and silky and Tyler knows he’s going to look great in it. His hands are almost shaking as he fumbles with the tie. Sensory deprivation has never been a kink of his, but he’s wanted Jamie to do him from the front for over a year and how the fuck has he never thought of this before?

“Where do you want me?” he asks.

Jamie gives him a wry smile.

“Don’t pretend this is my show,” he says. “Where do _you_ want _me_?”

“On top of me,” Tyler says at once. “I want to lie back and have you on top.”

Jamie takes a deep breath and nods.

Tyler puts on the blindfold (he’s used them before with other clients and knows how to tie it tight enough to stay without giving himself a headache or anything), and sprawls out on the bed.

“Okay,” he says – softly, because it seems right. “Come here.”

He feels the bed dip as Jamie shifts, and then the rustle of his clothes coming off. The bed shifts again, and Tyler almost jumps as Jamie’s hand grips his hip.

“Ty,” Jamie says, voice husky. “You look… really good.”

Tyler obviously can’t see Jamie’s face, but at least in this position he can touch. He reaches up and feels around until he hits skin – an arm, it feels like, so he draws his fingers up to Jamie’s shoulder, his neck, and finally his face. He cups his cheek.

“Come here,” he says. “Kiss me.”

There’s a pause, then Jamie moves, spreading out half on top of Tyler. Tyler moans at the feel of being pressed into the mattress, and again when Jamie’s wet hot mouth presses against his. The kiss starts slow but Tyler shifts his grip to the back of Jamie’s head and pulls him closer. Jamie lets it happen, lets Tyler’s tongue push into his mouth and there’s no doubt he’s enjoying it – his cock is digging into Tyler’s hip.

Tyler pulls back far enough to say, “Fuck me now.”

Jamie makes a quiet turned-on noise and stretches away. There’s the sound of him fumbling with something, then his weight shifts back into Tyler’s legs like he’s kneeling up.

“Turn over,” he says. Before Tyler can protest, he adds, “Just for now.”

Tyler turns, and feels Jamie settle onto his spread thighs.

“That view though,” Jamie says, and makes a sad clucking noise with his tongue.

There’s the click of a cap, a wet slick sound, and then Jamie pushes what feels like two fingers into Tyler.

“Jesus,” Tyler says, pushing back into it helplessly. “Warn a guy.”

“No,” Jamie says decisively, and uses another finger to catch at Tyler’s rim. He gives Tyler half a second to adjust, then pulls his hand away and thrusts the fingers back in three times in quick succession. 

Tyler grunts and lets Jamie finger-fuck him for just a minute, until he’s too impatient to wait anymore.

“That’s good,” he says. “I’m good. Just fuck me.”

Jamie lets him turn onto his back and then stretches out over him again. He pulls Tyler’s legs up to wrap around his waist and Tyler grips Jamie’s arms, feeling manhandled in the best kind of way.

“This okay?” Jamie asks.

“Yeah,” Tyler breathes.

They’re so fucking close that Tyler can feel Jamie breathe, can feel his exhale before he shifts around. Then his cockhead is pressing against Tyler’s hole. Tyler cants his hips up as Jamie pushes in and oh yeah, that feels good right there.

It’s a new angle, different from what Tyler’s used to with Jamie. It feels fucking great. Jamie isn’t complaining either, if the sounds he’s making are any indication. He doesn’t wait to let Tyler catch his breath, either, just fucks into him in hard steady thrusts that make Tyler clench up around him. 

“Yeah,” he says, “yeah, Jamie, come on.”

Jamie groans and his face is suddenly pressed against Tyler shoulder, breathing hot wet air against Tyler’s skin. He fucks Tyler harder and the angle is different now – not much but enough.

Tyler’s head thunks back against the pillow, and he clenches his teeth so he doesn’t yell as Jamie pounds him. He can’t see by he can feel and Jamie pinning him down and the drag of his cock is the fucking magical, lighting Tyler up from he inside out. 

“Oh fuck,” he grits out. “Oh fuck, right there, right there. Harder Jamie, come on, harder.”

Jamie picks his head up and his arms move away from where they’ve been pinning Tyler down. He’s getting leverage, Tyler’s fuzzy brain realizes, and once he’s got it, he quickens the pace.

“Come for me, Ty,” he says over Tyler’s chorus of “fuck fuck fuck.”

Tyler pushes a hand between them to wrap around his dick. One stroke, two, three – and then he’s cumming, clenching down hard around Jamie’s throbbing cock inside him. He feels Jamie jerk, hears him swear, and then he collapses onto Tyler, pinning him to the bed.

“Fuck,” Tyler says when he gets his breath back.

“Yeah,” Jamie agrees. His face is still right up next to Tyler’s and Tyler is able to find his mouth without much difficulty. He runs hands over Jamie’s back as they kiss, feeling the smooth skin there, the solid muscle. His hands trail down Jamie’s ribs to his waist.

Jamie pulls back and away.

“I’m going to shower,” he says quickly. 

Tyler feels the bed dip again as Jamie climbs off, then hears the wardrobe being opened. The bathroom door closes and the water starts running. Tyler brings his hand up to his face to push away the blindfold.

Well fuck. 

It had been good, is the thing, exactly what Tyler wanted – right up until the end when he’d tried to feel Jamie up. It still feels like progress, like they’re crossing all sorts of lines, but… Tyler still doesn’t really understand what those lines are. What’s Jamie trying to hide? He doesn’t have anything Tyler hasn’t seen before. Unless he has some sort of terrible scar but why would he think Tyler would care about that?

He lays there thinking about it until shower cuts off , then he sits up gingerly. They’ll just have to keep working on it. They got further today than they ever have before, and maybe if Tyler keeps slowly pushing it, Jamie will eventually feel comfortable enough to fuck Tyler without any hiding at all.

/////

The rest of the trip goes well. They go out to the bar with Jamie’s clients (Tyler is an expert at pretending there’s rum in his coke) and Jamie reports the next day that anyone who wasn’t won over before now thinks Tyler’s a fantastic guy. Tyler takes it as his due and lets Jamie pay him back in blowjobs.

They also find time for some date stuff. They do end up going to Butchart Gardens, which are very pretty, even in winter (although, granted, winter on this coast does not mean the same thing as it does at home). They also do some touristy stuff in Seattle (the fish market is way cool, the Space Needle may be a little overrated). And of course they spend lots of time in bed, sometimes even breaking out the blindfold and fucking face to face (although Tyler never does get to cop a proper feel like he wants to).

Tyler’s feeling pretty high on success by the time they head home the next weekend, and not even a long-ass flight can put a damper on his victory. If anything, the travel exhaustion only intensifies the feeling. He follows Jamie back to his place, too giddy and punch drunk to let the trip end. He doesn’t want to have to go back to his own apartment, doesn’t want to stop being Jamie’s kept boy.

That last thought is what finally makes him ask the question he’s been waiting months to ask. 

“Hey,” he says when they’re cuddled up in Jamie’s bed.

Jamie turns his head to look at him. His eye are drooping shut and god, he’s so fucking cute.

“Yeah?”

Tyler clears his throat, nervous for some stupid reason. “I had a lot of fun these last two weeks. We’re just… really fucking good together. You, uh, ever thought about making it more permanent?”

“Permanent?” Jamie asks slowly. “What do you mean?”

“A permanent private contract,” Tyler says in a rush. “I’d be… just yours. No one else.”

Jamie stares at him, eyes wide, and doesn’t say anything. He just stares and stares until Tyler starts to get nervous.

“What do you think?” Tyler asks at last when he can’t take the silence anymore.

“You’d be… just mine,” Jamie says quietly. He wets his lips. “Not… not an escort anymore. Um, let me think about it.”

Tyler lets out a rough breath.

“Yeah,” he says, “that’s fine.”

He tries not to feel disappointed about it. Of course Jamie can’t just commit to that kind of thing without looking at his finances, talking to Sid about price. The private contract is a discount rate from the hourly, but it’s still a hell of a lot of hours to pay.

It’s dumb to be worried. It’s not like Jamie’s going to say no. He cuddles back against Jamie and forces himself to close his eyes. He doesn’t fall asleep for a long time but he tells himself it’s just jet lag.

When Tyler wakes up in the morning, the other side of the bed’s empty. Jamie’s gone and Tyler’s alone. He’s halfway to worried, but then he sees a note with Jamie’s neat handwriting.

‘Get home safe. I’ll call.’

Tyler rolls his eyes, because it’s so very Jamie. Probably had errands or something to run after being away for two weeks, or had to go into the office to work on whatever assignments he brought back from Seattle. 

Doesn’t mean it’s not annoying that he left Tyler alone like this. Seriously not cool. Tyler is going to give him shit about it when he calls.

Well, Tyler’s got stuff to do anyway. He’s got his own life to step back into. He heads home, touches base with Sid, gives Claude’s kids their souvenirs, and hears all about the latest Gally and Chucky problems. When he finally gets a moment to himself, he plugs his phone in and waits for Jamie’s call.

Except… except Jamie doesn’t call. Tyler waits and waits but Jamie never calls. But okay, no reason to worry. Maybe he’s just busy and forgot. 

Phones work both ways, luckily. Tyler pulls up Jamie’s number from his contacts and hits send. It rings once and then goes to voicemail. 

“Uh, hey,” Tyler says, “call me.”

He hangs up and stares down at his phone, considering.

Weird. Very weird. But… no need to panic. Jamie will call soon. He always calls.


End file.
